Fido's No Doctor And Neither Is The Cat

Or so says an interesting opinion piece in today's New York Times. Written by Hal Herzog, a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University and author of the well-received book, Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It's So Hard To Think Straight About Animals, the piece contends that there's really no valid scientific studies that demonstrate that having a companion animal actually helps humans prevent or recover from physical or psychological illnesses.

Herzog acknowledges that this opinion flies in the face of numerous other studies and books on the matter, but says: "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean to disparage animal companionship; pets are central to my life too. But the truth is that we know little about how pets could affect us biologically, or why a health benefit accrues to some people, but not others. Answering these questions will require the same rigorous methods that scientists use to to test the effectiveness of drugs and medical procedures."

Enjoy reading the full article here: www.nytimes.com/2011/01/04/opinion/04herzog.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Hal%20Herzog%20%20Fido's%20No%20Doctor&st=cse

You know, this article really made me think.  I've heard Parental Unit say many times that I am "the love of her life" (she's never said that about the cat, Bella, by the way), but was never sure if she was joking or if her voice carried a hint of sarcasm. But I choose to believe it and that means something to me.

Why look at how happy she is when I just give her a "high ten"- and I'm the one getting the treat!

What do you all think? We'd love to know!

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