Good (healthy) news for pet owners:
Dog owners have 8% fewer doctor visits than pet-free individuals, while those who share their lives and homes with cats (notice we don’t humor ourselves by saying we own them) have to go to the doctor 12 % fewer times than the rest.
Furthermore, in stressful situations, people with pets have half the blood-pressure surge animal-less people do.
[From the book Healing Power of Pets, The: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy by Marty Becker, M.D., with Danielle Morton.]