By Charles Davenport Jr.

If you would like to improve your cardiovascular health: bathe daily in oxytocin (the “love hormone”), relieve the stress in your life, decrease your blood pressure, manage your cholesterol, and ward off loneliness and social isolation. The solution is simple: Get a Golden Retriever!

Okay, I am biased in favor of that particular breed, but having a pet— a dog, certainly, and to a lesser degree, a cat— is a sure fire way to increase your well-being. For at least 40 years, virtually every study conducted on the matter has demonstrated that we humans derive tremendous benefits (physical and psychological alike) from a canine and/or feline companion.

My wife and I have had Golden Retrievers and cats for the past 25 years, so I have a considerable amount of experience with pets. But I am not a scientist. In fact, my credentials are a little sketchy. Julie Corliss, on the other hand, has sterling credentials, what some might even call “gravitas.” She is the editor of the Harvard Heart Letter, a publication of Harvard Medical School, so I think we can take her seriously.
What is the cause of those benefits? According to Corliss, “Pets seem to dampen the body’s stress response.”

As they say on the TV commercials, “But wait! There’s more!” Here Corliss seems to take a bit of a swipe at the feline (and feline aficionado) community: “There is only limited evidence that cat owners have lower blood pressure.” As the kids say, “Oh, snap!” Meanwhile, dog owners “tend to have lower resting heart rates and lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels than non-owners.”

Most of the pet owners reading this are rolling their eyes and thinking to themselves, “Duh! Tell us something we do not know!” Well, here is a stat you might not be familiar with: According to Dr. Beth Frates of Massachusetts General Hospital, dog owners walk an average of 20 minutes per day more than people who do not own a dog.

I am guessing I am on the tippy-top of that average range, because Moose, our Golden Retriever, gets at least two walks per day, and more than that in the fall and winter. (At this time of year, because of the heat, we only walk early in the morning and late at night.)

We live in Kernersville’s Graystone Forest, where, I suspect, nearly every resident knows Moose’s name, but very few know mine. We often hear fellow pedestrians or people toiling in their yards yelling, “Oh, look! There’s Moose! Hi, Moose!” But that is okay. He is much more memorable than I am.

Moose likes to carry a stuffed animal on our walks, and that tends to draw attention. Sometimes he will abandon his stuffed animal in favor of a stick— usually one that is six or eight feet long. He will prance ceremoniously with it, as if he has discovered a rare treasure. That, too, tends to draw

attention. On a few occasions, neighbors have discovered “stuffie” castaways in their yard, or on the street. They know the abandoned toys belong to Moose, so they toss them in our driveway and send us a text.

Dr. Denise Millstine of the Mayo Clinic says pets can make us smile and laugh, both of which lift our spirits and decrease stress levels. Indeed. When I get home from work, the exuberant greeting from Moose makes me instantly forget the worries of the day.

Our cat, Nikita, is a little more sociable and outgoing than most of the felines we have had. She greets me after work, too, and escorts me into the kitchen, where she knows I will open the drawer that contains her treats. I put them on the floor and thump them across the room to her. She assumes the stalking position and pounces on the incoming treats.

While reading about the benefits of pet ownership, I only encountered a couple of points with which I disagreed. The most outrageous advice comes to us from the aforementioned Dr. Frates of Mass. General Hospital, who warns that “letting a pet sleep in your bed can disrupt your slumber,” so you should “train your dog to sleep in its own bed and have your cat sleep in a separate room.”

That is hilarious! Maureen and I cannot sleep without our pets in the bed. Moose sleeps right between the two of us; Nikita sleeps on the bed, too— usually at my feet. We humans are fortunate that they let us in the bed. At one time, Maureen and I had two Golden Retrievers and two cats, and guess what: we all slept in the bed. Why? Because the affection and companionship our pets give us is limitless, and they ask so little in return.