Your pet—whether you have a dog, cat, parakeet or iguana, even a horse—has
the power to lower your blood pressure, make you feel less pain, get you
actively moving every day, and just plain make you feel better. Some people’s
pets can alert them to low blood sugar if they have diabetes, can sense a heart
attack or asthma attack coming on, and smell out skin cancer.

“Through our pets, we have a practical, trusted, routine way to relate to
nature, to break out of the shackles of mankind and its creations. This
relationship, this special affection connection, the Bond, give us an
unparalleled sense of unity with nature; it tells us that we aren’t above it,
but part of it,” says Dr. Marty Becker, a veterinarian in his book, The
Healing Power of Pets.

“Our dogs and cats represent an intimate and enduring look at another
mammalian mind and spirit and serve as a thread connecting us back to the
expanse of nature. Embedded in this Bond to life is simple, surefire, healing
power,” he says.

Dr. Becker, the veterinary correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning
America, has observed the amazing healing power of pets and describes what
scientists are just now proving. Therapy animals, mostly dogs, are commonplace
in hospitals and nursing homes. Why? Because they bring something doctors can’t
find in pills.

And you can unleash this power with Fido—in fact, you may already be feeling
the healing power of your household pet and don’t even realize it. Who gets
exercise, for example, when the family dog needs a walk? Both of you.

“Pets are totems of the values we hold dear and a conduit to our historic
connections between humans and nature. . . . Our need for each other, which is
part spiritual, part visceral, helps keep us happy and healthy,” says Dr.
Becker.