The healing power of Dogs.

There's been all kinds of research that show people with pets live longer then those without. Children raised in homes with pets have higher self esteem, patients with heart issues have a lower mortality rate in homes with pets. Let's face it- pets make us feel good. Mere and I have dogs...dogs we love so much that really do love us back. These guys are my companions in life (besides my hot wife), and they make me feel good, listen to me bitch about things, and always come give me a dog hug when i need it (and they'd love a kiss, too, but YUCK....9+ yrs old on them both and they have BAD breath). I guess all I'm saying is that I feel so lucky to have these wonderful animals, they truly have helped me to heal in happiness and comfort, and I've learned I never want to have a household without a dog. They truly light up Mere and I's life, and we can't wait to get home to them. And, I honestly believe there's something very healing in having them around while i'm down and out. I found all kinds of interesting facts and stats online pertaining to the healing power of animals, but I wanted to put up a few cool, yet somewhat cheesy, stories I liked about therapets they have in hospitals:
(from Usatoday.com)
Dogs turn their calming powers on strangers, sometimes with spectacular results. Layton tells of a hospital visit when a nurse approached her and said, "You. Come with me, and bring your dog." She and Maggie hurried down a corridor as the nurse explained that a cancer patient had come in for treatment and suddenly her heart began to beat erratically. "She said it will not stop, and we want to see if the dog will help," Layton says.

When they entered the room, "the woman was panicked" and gasping, Layton says. Maggie stretched out on the bed with the struggling patient, who began petting her, and within minutes, the heart palpitations slowed, and the woman began breathing normally. "I looked up at the nurse, and she did a thumbs up. It still makes the hair raise on my arms. That's the power that an animal has in a scary situation."

For people with disabilities, animals can be life-altering. Elcock cites as an example the work of a therapy dog named Zorro who is helping a 5-year-old boy with cerebral palsy. Zorro has helped improve the Renton, Wash., boy's ability to move around, and the stimulation created by Zorro's licking his face and hands has helped improve the child's ability to eat, Elcock says.

"Watching this dog, I hate to say this as a scientist, but there's magic in that room."