Having a pet brings many rewards including companionship, affection and exercise. Here are some links that explore this in more details, highlighting how having a pet can benefit your health and well-being in many ways.
This article from the Blue Cross animal charity discusses how pets improve fitness as they can encourage owners to walk more! It also shows how pets can also assist with well-being as they improve our emotional state by providing comfort.
Battersea Cats and Dogs home have done a lot of research into the health benefits of pet ownership. For example, did you know that pet owners are 60% more likely than non–pet owners to get to know people in their neighbourhoods? Find out more here.
Dogs can be trained to give people extra comfort and support. Mayhew runs a programme called Therapaws, where support dogs visit care homes to reduce isolation and loneliness. Find out more in this article.
If you’d like to find out more about the mood-boosting power of pets, here is a great article, which talks about just how good dogs are at tuning in to what we need and how pets can encourage playfulness, provide companionship and add love and joy to your life. To find out more about the benefits of pets, this site summarises the positive impact on mental health with subsections that show how dogs alleviate loneliness and provide companionship.