While many pet owners are sure their companions benefit their health, few take that belief as far as Mike Lingenfelter. The Alabama man credits Dakota, his Labrador retriever, with detecting several heart attacks before Lingenfelter knew he was having them...The paper from the British Medical Journal is Pet Ownership and Human Health: A Review of Evidence and Issues.
The pet owning study reviewed research conducted since the 1980s that has helped popularize what BMJ called the "view that pet ownership could have positive benefits on human health." Reputed benefits include higher survival rates from heart attack, lower use of doctors' services, a reduced risk of asthma and allergies in children exposed to pets during the first year of life, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and better physical and psychological well-being in the elderly.
Health Technorati Tags: Pets, Dogs, Myocardial Infarction, Heart Attack