Isn’t Every Day “Love Your Pets” Day?

We ask because February 20th is Love Your Pet Day. If you haven’t been loving your pets—and showing that love—every day since they came into your life, we need to talk. We’ve loved you since the moment we laid eyes on you and you put your arms around us. We appreciate everything you do for us–the food, shelter, walks, play time, toys, dog treats and cat treats, hugs, cuddles and kisses, rides in the car (most of us, anyway.) Baths and visits to the vet, not so much, but we know you do it with love and for good reason.
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Stress and wellness specialist, Beverly Beuermann-King confirms what we give you in return:

1) First and foremost, unconditional love.

2) A better state of mind. For true animal lovers, it’s tough to stay in a bad mood when we lick your face or cuddle up next to you.

3) Well-controlled blood pressure. “Pets control blood pressure better than drugs. Hypertensive New York stockbrokers who went out and got a dog or cat were found to have lower blood pressure and heart rates than those who didn’t go out and get a pet. Research has also shown that heart attack victims who have pets live longer.”

4) Less stress. “People experienced less stress when their pets were with them when performing a stressful task than when a supportive friend or even their spouse was present! This may be partially due to the fact that pets don’t judge us; they just love us.”

5) Companionship. “Pets can be there for you in ways that people can’t. They can offer love and companionship, and can also enjoy comfortable silences, keep secrets and are excellent snugglers. They could be the best antidote to loneliness. In fact, research
shows that nursing home residents reported less loneliness when visited by dogs than when they spent time with other people. They connect to our nuturing side and help to pull us outside of ourselves and our thoughts. Pets learn to sense emotions from humans based on their affection levels and their actions. If the human is withdrawn, the pet senses that something is wrong or different and attempts to change the human’s behavior maybe by nudging them or curling up to their body for heat when they are unsuccessful at producing a response.”

6) Encouragement to exercise. Well, we can’t walk ourselves, can we? We both benefit from a nice, brisk walk. We get our bodies moving and spend some quality together time!

So, come on, dog lovers, cat lovers, hamster lovers, gerbil lovers, fish lovers and all pet lovers—celebrate Love Your Pet Day 24/7/365 (and 366 in leap years!) On February 20, just give us an extra hug, some special treats, a longer walk (except the fish lovers,) and we’ll do the same on Love Your Person Day!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAFor the Animals,

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaMax & Mittens