When I went down to look for a dog at the animal shelter at Hahndorf I was greeted by a gorgeous, friendly, energetic little puppy. My heart went out to this poor abandoned little (or not so little as my dad keeps reminding me) puppy. What I didn't realise at the time was that he would quite literally have an effect on my heart.
Studies have shown that patients who suffer heart attacks but own pets are likely to have five times the survival rate of patients who are not pet owners. In fact the simple act of petting an animal is known to cause a person's blood pressure to drop.
Companionship from a pet, and in fact from a human, can help to switch off the stress response in the body. The positive thoughts and feelings created by that sense of companionship and unconditional love has a very physical effect on the body. It causes the release of dopamine in serotonin in the body. Dopamine and serotonin help to switch off the stress response that is linked to your risk of strokes, cancers, diabetes and heart attacks - in fact basically all of the lifestyle diseases that are on the increase in our modern busy lives.
Our bodies are not designed to live the stressful environments that our modern lives provide, so our stress responses are switched on a lot more than they should be. If you are going to go out and get a pet this Christmas, though, there are several things that you need to consider.
Dr Brett Hill's top 5 tips for selecting a pet:
1. Assess your lifestyle to ensure that the type of pet you are going to get is going to fit easily into your life.
2. Ensure that you can financially afford the food etc. that your pet will require.
3. Do some research into vaccinations and other treatments that are recommended for your pet to determine whether you want to choose those options.
4. Make sure that your decision has been thoroughly thought through; remember that a pet is a 'family member' for life.
5. I strongly recommend that people consider getting their pet from an animal shelter to help reduce (rather than possibly add to) the number of abandoned animals.
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