by Linda Spradlin

Created on: February 07, 2009

Pets: Cause or Relieve Stress

It is a proven fact that petting an animal lowers your blood pressure. Personally, I find that curling up with my three animals to watch Animal Planet is one of the most relaxing things I do. I suffer from Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and arthritis. My animals make me get up and push through my day. At first it is a stressor, but when you look at the big picture, I probably wouldn't get out of bed some days, just because of my animals.

I have two dogs, both are rescues with their own stories to tell, and just watching them play makes me feel better because I know that neither of them would be alive today had I not rescued them. Buddy, my Rat Terrier was abandoned in an apartment and left to die. Harley is a beautiful American Staffordshire Terrier (yes, she's a Pitbull), who was abandoned with her brothers and sister beside a dumpster when she was only two days old. She was bottle fed, housebroken, and very well trained as a puppy. My cat is also a rescue, but he would've been adopted by another if I hadn't taken him when I did. I have no regrets regarding the decision to bring any of my animals home.

My oldest daughter was a medic in the army and was stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Home now, she has a Great Dane (Duke) that she had registered as a Therapy dog. He is young, and very goofy. He makes her laugh. If only for those moments each day that he does something goofy to make her laugh, she has a break from the "Shock and Awe" that she endured during her eighteen month deployment. Duke helps her deal with the Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome she has from living in a war zone and seeing her 'brothers' killed off by bullets and bombs. Her objective, while there, was to stay alive and patch up the ones who got hurt.

I do agree that for some animal owners, who haven't taken the time to assure that their dogs are properly trained, or who neglect their animals, they can certainly be a stress factor. These irresponsible pet owners must realize that it is their own fault. Dogs can be extremely destructive and without proper socialization, they can be very dangerous.

I believe that if you surveyed pet owners whose animals are appropriately trained against those who have not socialized or trained their pets, you will find a stark contrast in your results. A well trained, obedient pet is a very loving creature, who only want to please you. You can confide your deepest secrets to them, and they won't tell a sole. They protect us from intruders, and love us unconditionally.

So, once again, the animal troubles are the humans fault, not the animals. Any animal behavior problems can be rectified by the proper training and socialization. This was proven publicly in the aftermath of the Michael Vick case. Almost every dog seized in that raid are now placed in loving homes, and are loving, faithful, and loyal pets.

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