Prescribe pets on the NHS!

PETS have been credited with conferring all sorts of health benefits on their owners, from lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of stroke to decreasing stress and anxiety.

Yet a study this week in the BMJ claims that, in fact, they don’t help people stay healthy: the finding was that pet-owners have the same levels of physical and psychological health as non-pet owners.

I don’t believe this for a second. As far as I’m concerned, doctors should be able to prescribe pets on the NHS. Time and again, I’ve seen how someone’s dog or cat utterly transforms them.

When I was working in a nursing home, a kindly woman who lived in the area would bring her dog in. She’d stop off on the way back from their afternoon walk and the friendly — but rather excitable — German shepherd would run amok in the lounge. He’d upset teacups, knock over side tables and generally have a great time rushing from one person to the next.

What astonished me was the way the residents responded. No longer sitting half asleep, chins on their chest, they would laugh, scold the dog, or try to stroke him as he dashed past. People who hardly said a word were suddenly talking.

Long after the dog left, you could still feel the sense of excitement in the air.

Pets might not make you stay younger, but they make you feel alive. And that’s even better.