Pets enhance life, psychologist says

Your pet loves you and you love your pet back.

That single emotional exchange is one of the reasons that pets can encourage a healthy emotional mindset, says psychologist Therese J. Borchard.

Writing in the World of Psychology, Borchard says the presence of a pet gives structure and responsibility to a human life. Pets must be fed, preferably on a schedule, and tended to, recognizing their need, and our need, for exercise, for example.

They change our behavior. If we wish to collapse disgruntled in a chair at the end of the day, there is that friendly wet dog nose, urging us to a pet and a walk.

Just petting your dog or cat reduces stress-related responses in the brain, according to a study by the University of Virginia.

This distraction can be an effective therapy that stops a person from obsessively ruminating on problems.

And finally, just the feeling of love given and returned, is enough to make life a little more meaningful.