Its a time to give thanks in Hollywood, at least for a select few. Award season is in full swing, which means a multitude of acceptance speeches, and a standard litany of acknowledgments -- the kids, spouse, mom, dad, agent, publicist, fellow nominees, anyone associated with the movie, an occasional high school drama teacher, and, oh yeah, God.
But when Mickey Rourke picked up a Golden Globe for his performance in The Wrestler, he departed from the usual script. In between mentioning his producer and Bruce Springsteen, the actor thanked his dogs. Sometimes when a mans alone, all you got is your dog. And they meant the world to me.
Rourke's gritty performance as a has-been pro wrestler grappling with the choices hes made, has more than a few parallels to his own life. In the 20 years since his days as a Hollywood heartthrob, Rourke has wrestled with demons to the point of near destruction. Once, on the verge of suicide, the actor locked himself in a closet with his dog, Beau Jack. "It was the look in Beau Jack's eyes," he told an interviewer, that made him stop short. "That dog saved my life."
While Rourke's tale is particularly dramatic, it holds a universal truth: people and pets can forge titanium-strength bonds that provide a multitude of emotional, social and physiological benefits. Animals can provide unconditional love, companionship, comfort, an incentive to exercise, the chance to nurture, to touch and be touched.
And it's a mutually-beneficial connection. In the mid-twentieth century, researchers studied the reaction dogs had to being petted by humans and found it significantly reduced the animal's blood pressure. But it took another 20 or so years before they realized that humans have a similar physiological reaction when they pet an animal. In the past 30 years medical research has shown animals provide many other health benefits. Owning a pet may even prolong your life.And here's just a sampling of the research that back up those and other claims: Visits with a therapy dog helps heart and lung function by lowering pressures, diminishing release of harmful hormones and decreases anxiety with hospitalized heart failure patients. (Cole, 2005)Displaying tanks of brightly colored fish may curtail disruptive behavior and improve eating habits of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. (Beck, 2002)Animal-assisted therapy can effectively reduce the loneliness of residents in long-term care facilities. (Banks, 2002).People with borderline hypertension had lower blood pressure on days they took their dogs to work. (Allen, K. 2001).Seniors who own dogs go to the doctor less than those who do not. In a study of 100 Medicare patients, even the most highly stressed dog owners in the study has 21 percent fewer physician's contacts than non-dog owners. (Siegel, 1990). Seniors who own pets coped better with stress life events without entering the healthcare system. (Raina, 1998).Pet owners have lower blood pressure. (Friedmann, 1983, Anderson 1992).Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than non-owners (Anderson, 1992).Companionship of pets (particularly dogs) helps children in families adjust better to the serious illness and death of a parent (Raveis, 1993).Pet owners feel less afraid of being a victim of crime when walking with a dog or sharing a residence with a dog. (Serpel, 1990).Pet owners have better psychological well-being (Serpel, 1990).Pet owners have a higher one-year survival rates following coronary heart disease (Friedman, 1980, 1995).Pet owners have better physical health due to exercise with their pets. (Serpel, 1990).Having a pet may decrease heart attack mortality by 3%. This translates into 30,000 lives saved annually (Friedman, 1980).Dogs are preventive and therapeutic measures against everyday stress (Allen, 1991).Pets decrease feeling of loneliness and isolation (Kidd, 1994).70 percent of families surveyed reported an increase in family happiness and fun subsequent to pet acquisition. (Cain, 1985).
