Pets are good for us
An estimated 63 percent of American households have a pet, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. I assume
that a significant part of the no-owners would own a pet if their circumstances and finances were different.
Subjectively we know that being around pets has a calming effect for most of us. There is objective evidence as well. From this USA Weekend article, Why pets are good for us:
“People feel better after watching a Lassie flick because their levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, take a free fall”.
There, some science to back up what many of us experience. A few years back after hurricane Katrina I went through a period of significant financial and personal difficulty. My house was unlivable. For five months I slept on the floor of my business in New Orleans. It was comforting to have my dog laying there beside me.
