Pets, An Important Part of Every Stage of Our Lives.

No matter if you are a child or only a child at heart, pets bring great joy and comfort plus teach important life lessons.

For children, pets can help build a sense of responsibility. Their unconditional love can assist a shy child in feeling accepted and act as a common ground upon which to build friendships with others. The circle of life may be experienced for the first time with the birth of a pet or the loss of a beloved dog. If handled properly, these circumstances may help to mold the way a person copes with basic events of life.

Single adults and those dealing with the 'empty nest syndrome" find that pets ease the feeling of loneliness and isolation. The medical benefits of pet ownership were dramatically proven in a 1980 study that showed that only 6% of post heart attack pet caregivers died after returning home from hospitalization as compared to 44% of those who did not own pets.

In a 1990 survey, elderly pet owners were reported to visit their doctors less than non-pet owners. Alzheimer patients in care facilities tend to eat better when they dine seated in front of an aquarium filled with fish.

Dogs are often our impetuous to get off our duffs and go for a walk. Pets help to lower our blood pressure by the simple act of petting them. They also seem to care when no one else does. Our responsibility to them is to love them, protect them, provide safe housing and good nutrition plus adequate medical attention. Why? Because they are "Your Pet…Health Matters."