3/10/2008
Here’s a few good reasons we should all have pets. For nearly 25 years, research has shown that living with pets provides certain health benefits. Pets help lower blood pressure and lessen anxiety. They boost our immunity. They can even help you get dates. For starters, it’s been proven that kids growing up in a home with a pet cat or dog, or on a farm will have less risk of allergies and asthma. Studies have shown that Alzheimer's patients have fewer anxious outbursts if there is an animal in the home. Heart attack patients who have pets have been known to survive longer than those without. And let’s not forget the chick magnet thing. Forget Internet matchmaking -- a dog is a natural conversation starter. This especially helps ease people out of social isolation or shyness.
If you know someone with diabetes, you may want to tell them about St. John’s Diabetes Support Group. The next meeting is set for tomorrow from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in our Mercy Conference Center. And for more information about the group, call St. John’s Referral One at 625-2000 or log onto stj.com.
