Is it true that pets can make you feel better?

The reason I ask this is because when Im not very well my dog always comes and lays next to me and I do actually feel better.

But I dont know if its just because she makes me forget about whats wrong with me.
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karinASS (http://www.girlcamfriend.com/cam/karinASS/)

Its like having a big hug from your loved one. It calms you inside and helps you to forget.

Your pet is part of the family.

get a nice cuddly kitty, and do stand up comedy with it usually makes u feel better

I take animals, mainly dogs, my own on a lead, into people with learning difficulties and senile dementia.

It generates discussion and helps them.

Yes I firmly believe pets help people to communicate

Originally posted by Mainframe
The reason I ask this is because when Im not very well my dog always comes and lays next to me and I do actually feel better.

It's probably planning to eat you if you die, like that womans cats did.

Yes, Nick has a point. As a boy I became convinced that my Aunt's Jack Russell Terriers intended to eat me. Once, half asleep on her sofa, I noticed they had slowly and stealthily crept up to me, licking their chops, their gimlet eyes glinting strangely. They were hovering...

And there was the guy with the python who woke-up and found it had started to swallow his arm, it had got to the elbow.

Yes, that's right. Are any pets really trustworthy? Who knows what lurks behind their eyes? I have personally witnessed a Tortoise unleash a torrent of foul-smelling urine down the front of a friend of mine. He only picked the reptile up to admiringly look at it at closer range, and that was his reward. We know that it did it on purpose, but we can't prove it.

Call me a sad moron if you wish, but I love pets; we have two cats and they're great.

:)

they make me feel worse - only because i'm allergic to animal fur though :D

You are not a 'sad moron', Alex. However, don't come running to Nick and I when they spitefully scratch you, as surely they will. Cats are aloof killers, and take a terrible toll on wild birds. They have no real affection for humans, and possess an arrogant, 'knowing' look. Especially the Siamese variety, who are inclined to spit like maladjusted teenagers. If you tire of them, pass them on to me. My English Bull Terrier [the only truly worthwhile pet to own] will have hours of fun playing with them in my garden.

Nick and Timo - don't forget swans. Although not technically pets, as we all know they can easily break your arm.

Mainframe you know your dog is probably coming to you to escape from the clutches of that sister of yours, not exactly a dog lover now is she!!!

Our Dog hasn't made me feel good recently with over a thousand pound to pay to have it's toe off when I could have just got the strimmer on it myself !:hihi:

hehehe, no she doesnt quite like our dogs, Your dog is ugly :) jk
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VAPORIZER REVIEW (http://vaporizers.tv/)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!! But yes I know that dog and it is ugly he seems to have a taste for ugly things - have you seen his partner!!! :hihi:

Feargal,
I have always encountered great difficulties with Swans, not least their stubborn resistance to being coshed. They take ages to subdue and overpower, and even when in the sack still wriggle a bit which can sometimes attract the water baillif's attentions. They do make a lovely communal roast though.

As do Red Deer, and Chatsworth House have a lovely free-range supply. Many is the time myself and fellow gourmets, bon-viveurs and convicted poachers have rampaged through the woods at night in Landrovers, searchlights blaring, our trembling fingers on the triggers of our cross-bows and sawn-off shotguns, in search of good venison.

At the moment, I am eying the Mandarin Ducks in lovely, sex maniac-haunted Hesketh Park [in Southport, where this Sheffield ex-pat is exiled] . They would go nicely with roast potatoes, and a glass or two of Chablis.

The therapeutic value of stroking an animal is well recorded,some dogs even specialise in visiting people in nursing homes etc. Lose a pet and you will soon realise the answer.

Originally posted by matsalleh
The therapeutic value of stroking an animal is well recorded

Obviously not porcupines or arrow-poison frogs though.

No, and not one of those Peckinese dogs either. One nearly bit my fingers off in Chesterfield. Obscene little vileness.

Yes definiitely. My cat Harry can always tell when I am upset and he won't leave me on his own. I love him and my other cats very much. Animals are intensely therapeutic.

they certainly do. I miss not having a dog :(

Originally posted by Olliekitten
Yes definiitely. My cat Harry can always tell when I am upset and he won't leave me on his own. I love him and my other cats very much. Animals are intensely therapeutic.
Ditto. When we had to put Bob to sleep. I ended up weeping in our bedroom, all over our Milly (our very shy calico girl). She ended up being so cuddled and wept on. She was so damp...poor kitty. But she understood I needed to cuddle and cry over her.

i've got a cat and a dog and they both make me feel better.

My dog, he is so friendly and playful, I just can't help smiling and laughing with him. He loves to play and loves a good cuddle. He's much more demanding than my cat but he's also more 'interactive' he is such a sweet thing.

My cat is a big softie too. She sleeps in our bedroom and when she wants to go out or wants her breakfast she always hops on the bed next to me and purrs loudly. If i don't wake (or sometimes pretend not to) she comes right up to my head and purrs in my ear. If that doesn't work, she pats me very gently on the cheek, she's a real sweetie.