By: Gail Roberts
Dogs and cats play a valuable role in our lives, for those of us who love them they bring us daily smiles and much joy. For those folks who do not love animals - well - they won't be reading this! Much of that value has to do with the beneficial and healthful aspects of having animals sharing our homes.
I am lucky enough to work a few hours a week for Animal Welfare Foundation, a non profit organization in San Diego that helps people get their animals spayed and neutered at low or no cost. There are still some pet parents who think it's cute to let their dogs and cats have puppies and kittens but PLEASE do not go down that road, San Diego has a crisis on it's hands of just too many animals and not nearly enough good homes for them. If you are for even one moment thinking of letting your pets multiply then please go visit one of the animal shelters,there they will tell you the problems and heartbreak that they deal with every day because of people not having their animals spayed and neutered.. Cost need not be an issue, as I said, no or low cost surgery is available. Another huge benefit is that you will avoid many medical problems later on, such issues as pyometra and mammary cancer in females, prostate cancer and aggression in males.
One of the great benefits of working for AWF is that I hear wonderful stories which quite often will bring tears to my eyes. One woman told me about how her life had been changed since her doctor prescribed a dog for her! .This person suffered from severe depression and she was thrilled about the many ways her little dog had helped her - she told me of the funny things he does that make her smile, how she has to get out to walk her pet every day and, how she has made friends with other neighbors who also have dogs and the way they always have something to chat about their dogs antics. Another person told me of her autistic child and the improvement in his life since they added a companion dog,to their family, her son has become much more confident and happier now that he has this new friend! For all of us who are pet parents there are many health benefits - now widely recognized by the medical profession, for example, stroking an animal can lower your blood pressure, watching dogs at play can lower the stress hormones in your body, also, having companion animals helps to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attacks - so by caring for your pets you should definitely live longer!
Most people want to do the best for their companion animals to keep them healthy and safe. Besides spaying and neutering good nutrition is one of the most important aspects of good health, for our pets. Next time I'll talk about pet foods - things to do and things to avoid for your 4 legged kids!
Wishing you and your animals good health
To contact Animal Welfare Foundation call 619 702 4400 weekday mornings. 9am. to 1 pm.