Pet Ownership Could Correlate With Healthier Aging

April 24, 2019

Pet Ownership Could Correlate With Healthier Aging

Each fall, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the University of Michigan sponsor a National Poll on Healthy Aging. In the 2018 poll, a majority of adults aged 50-80 said that they owned a pet, and many reported distinct benefits from that friendship. Eighty-six percent said that their pet(s) made them feel loved, and 79% credited their pets for reducing stress in their daily lives.

There was more. Forty-six percent of the respondents who indicated they were pet owners and also in fair or poor health said that their pets help distract them from their pain, and 72% of these same respondents noted that their pets helped them to contend with physical or emotional symptoms. Additionally, 73% of all pet owners polled indicated their pets gave them a sense of purpose, and 64% said that their pet led them to be more physically active than they would be otherwise. If owning a pet seems like too much responsibility to take on, consider a little pet therapy. Organizations like the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and Therapy Dogs International can bring you the company of a trained service dog for 30-minute or 60-minute sessions.²