The Value of Pets

There are many pills, medicines, and potions out there that claim to have a calming and therapeutic effect, but what are the side effects? There are many different kinds of pets such as, cats, dogs, fish, and horses, but they all share a physical and mental therapeutic value. Fish are one kind of pets that have a calming effect. Your emotions about colors lead to a reflex action in your vascular system, with changes in blood pressure and pulse rhythm occurring to "color psychology and color therapy" by Fabre Birren. By watching fish or just having them around you they can reduce stress and have a calming effect. If you we're to look around you in your everyday life you notice that a lot of places have fish tanks where people might get stressed. You might see fish tanks in offices, banks, doctor offices, or the dentist. Having a fish tank will help you live a better life, with less stress. Dogs are used with a wide variety of things, one of them being physical and mental therapy. You often see dogs being brought into nursing homes, hospitals, and mental institutions. Researchers have even discovered that dogs can sense an oncoming epilepsy seizure before it happens according to www.epilepsy.com. Also studies have shown that the stress level and anxiety of people have gone down while petting a dog according to http://www.thepsychologist.org.uk. When doctors or therapists try to get a child to open up and talk, they have the child talk to a dog. The child feels more open with a dog because the dog cannot talk back or judge them. “A dog is the only thing on earth that will love you more than you love yourself.” -Josh Billings. Horses have been known to have a very healing and calming therapeutic value.
Horseback riding has been known to heal people with physical, psychological, social, and behavioral problems. Believe it or not horses are also used for speech therapy.
“Zach couldn’t walk and was also autistic. NEC has taught him balance, patience, communication skills and independence. Riding has helped him with his speech, listening and concentration skills. This program has helped him overcome many obstacles, without NEC we don’t know where Zach would be—it has truly been a miracle that NEC has helped." This was just one story from a special equestrian farm called Naples Equestrian Challenge. There are many equestrian farms all throughout America. "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." -Winston Churchill Pets have both physical and mental therapeutic values. "In some studies, pet owners reported reduced fear, improved self-esteem and significantly fewer minor health problems and emotional concerns than people who have no pets." http://www.msif.org. For I believe that no matter what age, physical, or mental condition you are in there is always some sort of pet to fit your need, to help you live a healthier, stronger, and longer life.