Pet Therapy: Sympathetic Pups

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

28 Apr 2006 08:58 AM

Having a pet can help reduce stress and ease feelings of loneliness. A recent study reports that they can also help ease nervousness!

UCLA studied seventy-six patients who had experienced heart failure. Some visited with a friendly canine; some visited with a friendly stranger. The folks who had a visit from a four-legged friend saw a huge drop in anxiety levels -- anxiety scores went down twenty-four percent! The people who had dog visits also saw a seventeen percent drop in levels of epinephrine, a stress hormone.

The folks with the two-legged visitors did see some easing of nervousness and anxiety, but far less than the folks who had some quality dog time. In the second group, anxiety scores went down ten percent. Epinephrine levels dropped only two percent.

The researchers from UCLA believe that a big part of the success of the dog visits was the total lack of pressure. There is no social effort in spending time with an animal. You don't have to make conversation, or worry about whether or not a dog likes you. Or to put it another way, dogs are very empathetic. If you're happy, they're happy. If you're sad or sick, they can be more reserved and gentle.

With people -- friends, family, or strangers -- there's always some pressure to say the right thing or react the right way. So I'm not surprised that the group of patients that met with strangers (no matter how friendly) didn't experience as much relief.

I remember when my grandmother had several pins in her arm thanks to a broken wrist a few summers ago. My two dogs were very gentle around her, lightly touching the injured arm with their noses, licking her hands, and cuddling with her on the couch. Once the pins were out and she had completed physical therapy, they were back to demanding more active scratches and play.

If you've ever had or known a pet who would give you extra snuggles and kisses when you weren't feeling quite right, then you've experienced the benefits of a sympathetic pet.

Learn more about Aimee Amodio

Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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