Connoisseurs of Comfort

By: Kate Serrano

There is always a good feeling about having pets around. Whether you are a cat or dog person, there are many ways on how pets help improve health. Pets are natural mood enhancers – just by watching a dog play or a fish swim can already make a person feel less stressed. This is the same reason why therapists prescribe a pet as a way of dealing with depression.

 Pets provide unconditional love and will listen to you talk for as long as you want to talk. Pets improve social interaction as they keep you engaged with others. A dog, for example, is a conversation waiting to happen. People stop and talk when they see someone walking a dog. And while socially uplifting, walking the dog also improves physical fitness. A good 30 minute walk or playing fetch will keep one moving, thereby meeting the minimum recommended physical activity for a day. Walking the dog also helps develop strong bones and prevent osteoporosis and painful fractures. It exposes you to sunlight, which is a good source of vitamin D. lastly, having a pet helps manage health conditions; owning a cat for example has long term health benefits.

In a study conducted for almost 20 years now, people who never owned a cat were 40% most likely to die of heart attack and have higher risks of cardiac diseases. And in another study, pet owners had lower blood pressure and heart rate than those without pets. Kids who grow up in homes with cats and dogs are less likely to develop allergies. Higher levels of immune system chemicals build a stronger immune system, keeping them healthy as they grow older.

So whether you consider having a dog, cat or even a hamster, it doesn't really matter. It’s already a good start to maintaining a healthy, happy life.

Climate Change Invites Deadly Pathogens

Another example of man-made havoc has arisen with global warming; diseases are making their roundabouts now that ice is now beginning to melt where it shouldn't. It is now come to our attention that as the earth warms, species are prone to more disease their bodies are not accustomed to fighting off. The Arctic beluga whale population is now seen infected with the parasite common to domestic cats, known as toxoplasma gondii.

Toxoplasma gondii is known to cause severe damage to the brain eyes and organs and can remain dormant in the human system; once it becomes reactive it can cause severe symptoms up into death aboriginals are warned to stay away from beluga meat.

Animals which rely on a particular range of temperatures are more prone to becoming diseased or infected with viruses due to the new thawed-out land they now roam. Pathogens are quickly moving in and animals may be seeing their way out. We should be concerned for ourselves as well, the animals aboriginals eat and clothe themselves in can carry disease and can spread to more concentrated human populations very easily, taking care of our earth really determines the health of our people.