2023_NorthStarVets_Pets_Digital_Issue

HAPPY, HEALTHY PETS
Pets Can Make
You Happier
Bring a pet into your life and reduce stress, improve
your well-being—and gain one very sweet cuddle buddy.
Now here’s something to smile
about! Having a pet in your
life can make you happier.
Studies show that pets
can reduce stress in people
and improve their physical and mental
well-being.
“When we see, touch, hear or talk to
our companion animals, we feel goodwill,
joy, nurturing and happiness,” according
to the American Heart Association
(AHA). “At the same time, stress hormones
are suppressed.”
Watching fish swim in a tank, for example,
has been shown to reduce feelings of
stress in observers.
The simple act of petting a dog can
lower a person’s blood pressure, according
to the AHA, and reduce the stress
hormone cortisol.
Interacting with a dog can also increase
levels of the “love hormone” oxytocin,
according to Johns Hopkins Medicine,
bringing feelings of joy and happiness to
the human in an animal’s life.
Take the story of Montclair-based
veterinary oncologist Dr. Renee Alsarraf.
Her book Sit, Stay, Heal: What Dogs Can
Teach Us About Living Well chronicles how
the dogs in her life helped her heal during
her own battle with cancer.
Dr. Alsarraf lists countless benefits of
having an animal in your life, and says that
pets can “absolutely” help people during the
healing process.
“Just the act of having a dog or a cat,
something warm who loves you right
back, that you take care of, is so helpful,”
she says.
She notes that pets are often used to
help people suffering from post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD), and that therapy
dogs have been used to help children with
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). Some schools utilize therapy
dogs to provide emotional support to
students following a traumatic event or
on a regular basis.
Therapy dogs are also used across New
Jersey in hospitals, nursing homes and
other facilities to provide comfort and to
reduce anxiety and stress in the people
there.
Atlantic Health System’s Soothing
Paws Pet Therapy Program facilitates
visits between patients and trained dogs
(who are accompanied by hospital volunteers).
The program runs at Chilton Medical
Center in Pompton Plains, Goryeb
Children’s Hospital in Morristown, Hackettstown
Medical Center, Morristown
Medical Center, Newton Medical Center,
Overlook Medical Center in Summit and
Atlantic Rehabilitation in Cedar Knolls.
The therapy dogs, who all receive
intense training, travel to emergency departments,
the intensive care unit, cancer
units and other departments with the
mission of helping patients in need.
As Atlantic Health System notes on
its website: “Pet therapy can have many
physical and emotional benefits for
hospital patients, including reduced blood
pressure and stress.”
Notably, pets also provide companionship.
Studies have found that pets can
reduce loneliness, boost a person’s mood
and increase a person’s “feelings of social
support,” according to the National Institutes
of Health.
Those factors have never more important
than during the Covid-19 pandemic
and in its wake, as people are still readjusting
to interacting in social settings.
A great way to enjoy time with your
dog and reap additional physical and
mental health benefits is to get active and
exercise together.
Take a hike, or go for a brisk walk
around your neighborhood. A dual
exercise session not only strengthens
the human-animal bond, but it provides
a multitude of physical benefits (from
cardiovascular health to weight management
to help with joints and movement)
and mental benefits for both humans and
dogs. Exercise can even increase happiness
in pets and humans through the
release of endorphins.
Pets can also give people a great excuse
to get out there and be social with other
pet parents. While out for a walk around
your neighborhood, strike up a conversation
with a fellow pet parent or two.
Grab a coffee at a pet-friendly joint
and chat with the dogs and pet parents
around you. Several bars and restaurants
in New Jersey, including Wonder Bar in
Asbury Park and a number of chef David
Burke’s restaurants, even host dog-friendly
happy hour events, where both dogs
and pet parents can socialize and have a
night out that is, hopefully, filled with lots
of happy vibes.
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
26 NorthStarVETS ® .com