Psychologist Gail F. Melson, author of Why Wild Things Are: Animals in the Lives of Children, advocates children and families having pets because the interaction provides benefits on many levels. Her research has found that animals are important in many ways to the development of children, says Melson, a professor of developmental psychology with Purdue University. " Even their language development, thinking development..." she says. "Kids are always on the receiving end of care, being taken care of by grownups. Pets give children on opportunity to take care of something. " Modern society may increase the need for a pet for a child. Smaller families mean there no longer multiple brothers and sisters, and grandparents rarely reside with the families. An only child may miss the opportunity to care for someone else, she says. However, she emphasizes that pets are additions, not tools. A child in a healthy home is likely to have a good relationship with pet. A child in a volatile or abusive home may not learn to be kind to a pet.
Harry Jackson Jr. The Pet-a-Pet study at the University College of Veterinary Medicine is studying 50 dog owners and 50 people who don't own dogs. Test subjects interact with dogs they own, dogs belonging to others and a robot dog manufactured by Sony. Researchers take blood pressure readings and blood samples from the people and the dogs. Preliminary findings show the best results from interaction between people and the dogs they own. Both the dogs and humans have experienced lower blood pressure, better levels of good hormones and decreased levels of hormones related to stress. Rebecca Johnson, University of Missouri at Columbia. Johannes Odendaal, of Tshwane University of Technology in Pretotia, South Africa, found that after 20 minutes of quiet interaction, 18 people and 18 dogs had significant changes in beneficial hormones: oxytocin, a hormone associated with feelings of happiness; prolactin, associated with increased feelings of nurturing; endorphin, runner's high hormone; and phenyl ethylamine, which gives a feeling similar to the euphoria of chocolate. Coristol a stress hormone, decreased during the interaction. People living with Alzheimer's disease ate more when sitting in front of fish tanks. Women who had undergone surgery for breast cancer showed improved recovery and mental health if they owned a dog, cat or other pet.-University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom, reported by the Delta Society, an international nonprofit organization that links people to animals, www.deltasociety.org Dogs have a significant, beneficial health effect on people who live alone and have borderline hypertension. Owning a pet can buffer the response to mental stress better than ACE inhibitors-medications used to fight hypertension. For older people, research suggests that pets can play a useful role in moderating the effect of aging on blood pressure. A study of 6,000 households with people suffering cardiovascular disease showed dog and cat owners made fever visits to doctors and had lower rates of medication for high blood pressure, cholesterol, sleeping difficulties and heart problems. The researches said the study supports " the notion that individuals with a close relationship to animals carry a lower burden of some risk factors ".