Can owning a pet be beneficial to your health?

by Sherry Obenauer

How Pets Can Help You Live Longer and Healthier

Are you tired of jumping up and down? What about eating those mouth-watering rice cakes? If diet and exercise don't grab you, how about taking Fido for a walk?

Your PET can actually save your life! Researchers have found that simply stroking a dog or cat can lower blood pressure and heart rate as well as relax mood (Jenkins, 1986; Lynch, 1977; and Shaheen, 1987). Single people who own pets have a lower rate of depression (Brickel, 1984), particularly those who are elderly and have few social or familial contacts. According to Corson & Corson (1987), "...the dog served as a catalyzing socializing link on the [seniors] ward." Andrysco (1981) found activity involvement increased for seniors living in a retirement-nursing facility who interacted with a dog daily.

Further, all responsible and loving pet owners will tell you how much enjoyment they reap from their pets. Pets listen to problems without talking back, gossiping, or charging a high fee, and dogs are great advocates for walking, biking, hiking, jogging, or just playing tag. According to Onilea Matheson, who owns three cats and a lovebird, "You've had a hard day at work and your pet's there waiting for you and it's nice to have someone there who loves you and everything. They come over to see you [and] you feel good. It's very relaxing, I feel calmed and loved. I relax, I breathe better." Ms. Matheson works in a veterinary clinic and has heard many clients remark that owning a pet fulfills them; they even buy their pets Christmas presents! She described pet owners as more caring, thoughtful, considerate, sensitive, laid-back, agreeable, and relaxed compared to petless people.

Getting a dog is a great way to start an exercise program. Yates (1987) found that physical activity increased with animals present. Dogs should be walked for a minimum of half an hour per day to stay fit and happy and doing so allows the owner the same amount of needed exercise. Those who own larger dogs tend to exercise more and are more physically fit since many people believe that the bigger the dog, the more exercise the dog needs. Many dog owners even jog, bike, hike, and play catch with their beloved loyal friend. Ms. Matheson reports that several dog owners take their "Fidos" for walks, hiking, parks, and flyball. Dogs open the floodgate to a variety of physical activities for owners to engage in.

Social opportunities may arise while out with Fido. Rowell (1990) reported beneficial changes in socialization, communication, and engagement amongst [people] with animals present. Salmon & Salmon (1982) and Thompson, Kennedy & Igou (1983) demonstrated that companion animals fostered healthier and more frequent encounters between [people]. Other scientists have found that animals increase social interactiveness (McArthur, Brunmeier, Bergstrom, & Baun, 1986). There are lots of people to be met and talked to while out and about in the world. Maybe you'll even meet your perfect soul mate while out on a jog!

So, listen to your doctor about eating right and getting some exercise, but don't forget about the benefits of owning a pet. Remember, pet owners tend to live longer healthier sociable lives! You can adopt an animal at either the Calgary Humane Society or Street Cats. So, the next time you may think of abandoning or harming your precious Fido or Fluffy or are currently petless, think again. Your precious powder puff may actually save your life; that is, of course, if you don't choke on the hairballs first. Learn more about this author, Sherry Obenauer.

Why people are so fascinated by owls

by Kallie Szczepanski

Love them, hate them, revere them, or fear them... The one thing humans have never been able to do is to ignore owls. Why are we so fascinated by them?

The behavioral and physical characteristics of owls lend them a definite air of mystery.

Owls are nocturnal, of course, while humans are diurnal. Since our days on the savannahs of Africa, when we were often the prey of night's hunters, we associate nocturnal creatures with death. We are still, collectively, afraid of the dark.

Another aspect of owl physiology that has an impact on human observers is their ability to fly in near-silence. Many birds make some noise as they fly; some, such as ducks and quails, are extremely noisy. Owls, on the other hand, float like ghosts between the trees or across the fields. This ability lends to their otherworldly reputation.

In addition, various species of owls have different calls, but nearly all of them can raise the hair on the back of a listener's neck. Some calls, like the "whoo-hoo" of the great horned owl, are just pleasantly eerie. Others, like that of the Asian eagle owl, sound like the screams of a soul in torment. That is entirely by design. Owls use their frightening cries to flush small game from its hiding places. Then the hunting owl uses its excellent hearing and night-adapted binocular vision to pin-point the location of the hapless mouse or rabbit. A silent dive, and dinner is served.

Finally, the appearance of owls usually provokes one kind of reaction or another from people. All owls have round, flat faces with large, forward-facing eyes. In other words, their faces are shaped and proportioned much like ours. Some of the larger owls, such as horned, gray, or eagle owls, have facial features which look stern, commanding, or wise to a human observer. Others, such as pygmy owls and saw whet owls, have round heads and proportionally huge eyes that make them look cute and baby-like to us.

Given all of these characteristics, is it any wonder that most human cultures have been fascinated by owls, and have attached special meaning to the birds?

This has been true for as long as people have kept records of any kind. More than 30,000 years ago, on a wall in Chauvet Cave, France, someone painted a portrait of a long-eared owl. It is one of the earliest known works of art. We don't know what significance the painter accorded his or her subject, but owls were important enough to be included amongst the big game and dangerous

predators recorded in pigment by our Paleolithic ancestors.

Coming forward about 26,000 years in time, the Sumerian culture believed that owls attended their goddess of death, Lilith.

Two millennia after the Sumerian period, the Bible often used owls to signify terror and desolation. In fact, owls are frequently paired with dragons in biblical imagery. Job 30:29 says "I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls." A curse from Isaiah 34:13: "And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof: and it shall be a habitation of dragons, and a court for owls." This is fearsome company, indeed, for our nocturnal raptors!

Owls were rehabilitated somewhat, however, in classic Greek mythology, where they were associated with Athena, goddess of wisdom. This parallel interpretation, knowledge but also death, has clung to the owl in European cultures ever since.

How do owls fare in the world today?

Western people generally like owls, and are excited to see them. An owl sighting is a sign that a particular ecosystem is relatively healthy and complete. Besides, it's a rare event for most people to see an owl, and that increases the value of the experience. This attitude has only developed over the last couple of centuries; previously, western European cultures usually associated owls with death and devilry. Owls were often accused of being witches' familiars: this connection can be glimpsed in the Harry Potter series, where owls deliver mail for witches and wizards.

In East Asia and Central Asia, owls are generally well-regarded. Chinese people use owl amulets to ward off lightning strikes. The Ainu of Japan consider owls the messengers of the gods. Mongols credit an owl with saving the life of Genghis Khan, their great leader. According to Afghan lore, the owl brought fire to mankind. In the Middle East, however, owls still have a bad reputation. Hebrew tradition, as shown in the Bible passages above, associates owls with blindness and desolation. In Iran and throughout the Arabian Peninsula, owls are considered very bad luck; they sometimes carry children away at night and eat them.

Throughout Africa, owls are associated with witchcraft and dark magic. Some sorcerer-kings are said to turn themselves into owls in order to do their terrible deeds unseen.

In Native American cultures, the owl is often a messenger of death. This has been true from the time of the Aztecs and Incas, and is still believed by some people.

Finally, Australian Aborigines believe that owls are the souls of women. (Bats are men.) Owls are therefore honored as sisters. Just across the water, however, the Maori of New Zealand believe that owls are bearers of bad news. While they can be intimidating, owls are also powerful protecting spirits. The fearsome round-eyed expression used by warriors when they do the "Haka" is modeled on the face of an owl, and many Maori women used to tattoo an owl-eye motif on their chins. (These days, most just draw the design on with eyebrow pencil when they perform traditional dances for tourists.)

People's reactions to owls still vary widely around the world. Some see them as beautiful, awe-inspiring, and wise. Others view owls as demons, the restless spirits of ancestors, or witches in disguise. Whichever way you look at them, though, you won't look away.

Learn more about this author, Kallie Szczepanski.