When I was growing up, we never had any animals in the house (unless you count those weird Sea Monkey things, I think LittleBigSis had some of those). I imagine it had to do with there already being four children in the house, and us living on the bread-line most of the time (I might exaggerate). That being the case, the idea of owning a pet has always filled me with fear. I had a Furbie in the nineties, I loved it more than words can say. When it’s batteries died, I was inconsolable. I didn’t think I could cope with the idea of a real pet dying.

But recently, I’ve been reading a lot about the health benefits of having animals in your life. The research, nearly 25 years old some of it, suggests that people who own pets have lower blood pressure and report much less anxiety. Spending much of the day alone, as I do, I have to admit I sometimes get a little lonely. There’s only so much talking to oneself that I can do!

So, I’ve spent a week or two trying to persuade the Husband that we need to widen our little family circle to include a few little furry things. For those of you that are interested, some of the other health benefits include:

– A sense of purpose in the Care-giver

– Companionship

– Milder reactions to (and quicker recovery from) stress and stressful situations

– A reasons to get up in the morning (very important for those of you who, like me, struggle sometimes to see the point)

– A potential widening of your social circle (dog walkers talk in the park, online forums are rife, meeting local breeders, etc)