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We all know that adopting a shelter pet can help provide an unwanted animal a home, but have you considered the positive impact it can have on the guardian’s life? Adopting is a shelter animal a win/win situation. Not only do these animals need a good home, but owning a pet can enrich your quality of life.

Studies have shown that having a pet can help people live heathier, happier lives. Owning a pet has been credited with helping to lower a person’s heart rate and blood pressure and for reducing stress. As most pet owners will agree, a pet can also be a great cure for loneliness. Medical studies and field reports show companion pets have a comforting, reassuring effect on people. The therapeutic benefits of being a pet guardian include:

Decreased anxiety and depression
Increased self-esteem
Lowered blood pressure
A guardian and protector of your house and your being

Additionally, companion pets provide unconditional love and offer no judgment of their human guardian. This is a close to a ‘perfect love’ we as humans can ever reach. Our pets love us regardless of the kind of day we have had, the clothes we wear, the friends we have, the money we earn, or the car we drive.

And where humans sometimes fail, dogs and cats are oftentime successful in cutting through the barriers that isolate people with physical and/or emotional disabilities. Companion pets can help patients by:

Increasing their desire to communicate
Decreasing their need for pain medication in some post-operative patients
Increasing their willingness to interact with other patients and/or hospital staff

With field studies and medical proof that dogs and cats offer humans far more than companionship, in 1983 Purina Pet Foods began encouraging shelter animal adoption and state educating people about how to be responsible pet owners. They created a program called Purina Pets for People. Purina Pets for People allows seniors 60 years of age or older to adopt a pet, FREE of charge, from participating animal shelters. In additon, Purina will provide Pets for People adopters with a kit that includes a pet food sample, a dog or cat food bowl, a pet care video, and a training & grooming brochure.

With all these benefits - isn’t it time you adopt a pet? Not only will you have a great companion, but you will have saved a life!