A close family friend recently suggested getting a dog after losing her husband. She is already an animal lover, but after her husband passed away, she felt that her home was too lonely. A recent study from the University of Montreal in Canada also found that owning a pet can greatly help children with autism. Thinking more broadly, cats and dogs can help people who are suffering from stress and the resulting anger.

The reasons for this are many and vary for each of us. Some reasons include: – A LOVING COMPANION: We all need to feel loved at times, and dogs and cats (and many other pets) can provide this. They can listen to our secrets, offer friendship, and are happy to see us when we get home.

– ALLOW US TO WALK MORE: This happens more with dogs than with other pets. Walking our pet dog is not only good exercise for him but also for us, with the added benefit that exercise can make us feel happy and less stressed, as well as being very good exercise.

– LOWER OUR BLOOD PRESSURE: It may sound ridiculous, but stroking our pet’s soft fur can help lower our blood pressure if we feel stressed and angry. Watching gold fish is another proven method of reducing anger; therefore, larger fish tanks and aquariums are placed in hospitals and medical waiting rooms.

– CAN TAKE OUR MIND AWAY FROM STRESSFUL SITUATIONS: Playing with our pets and lavishing attention on them can help us forget about what really stressed and upset us in the first place. Of course, this is not a problem-solving answer, but it can help us put those milder concerns out of your mind. We may have had a particularly bad day, but as soon as we walk through the door and see our pet, this anger just goes away.

In giving this advice, two words of caution are in order here. First of all, there are some problems in our lives that just won’t go away no matter how hard we try to forget about them, and while having a pet can help in the short term, the best solution is to face the problem. and try to solve it.

Second and most important, a dog or any other pet is a long-term commitment and the decision to get a pet should not be taken lightly. Pets cost a large part of our personal time, energy, and money. They should not be bought simply on impulse or simply to meet our needs. There are already too many dogs, cats and other animals abandoned or given to rescue centers because people cannot physically care for them or cannot be bothered to care for them.

However, if you feel you could benefit from having a pet and feel ready to make a long-term commitment, then having a companion animal could go a long way in reducing stress and anger.