"Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog." Sidney Jeanne Seward
This special bond that dogs and humans share, seems to have some very positive side-effects. Medical research studies have demonstrated that pets, and dogs in particular help keep our blood pressure down and our heart rates steady. These research studies concluded that those people who enjoy the company of a pet were likely to live longer than those people who do not. These same research studies also demonstrated that people who have pets were less likely to become ill, than those people who do not have pets. When the pet owner did become ill, the recovery period from the illness was much shorter.
How can our pets do this for us? The mere presence of our pets has a calming effect on us, whether we are aware of it or not. They are a constant source of happiness and laughter, keeping the depressing thoughts at a distance. This uplifting effect helps lower our stress levels, and this benefits our blood pressure.
Dog owners tend to take more frequent and longer walks, than people with other types of pets. The results of the studies showed, these people had fewer health problems. The increased exercise activity from the longer and frequent walks produced many positive outcomes to the dog owner.
Dogs also care for our emotional well-being. When we humans are depressed or out-of-sorts due to the stressing world we face each day, our dogs are always there to lift our moods. We see that special look in their eyes, with wagging tail, the gentle paw on our knee at just that right moment, the facial expression sympathetic as if to say, "What is wrong?" They offer themselves as an invitation to forget your troubles and worries, if only for a little while.
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