Calling all Pet Lovers...What Can Pets do for Your Heart?

Piet & Hana

It's no secret that the Jimmy Beans Wool crew is full of pet lovers. Just browsing our website, I'm sure you've seen Jimmy's dogs (they are celebrities)- Buddy and Wiley. While Wiley isn't with us anymore, Buddy keeps us company and brings smiles to our faces as he noses in all the garbage cans he can find.

Buddy often roams the office, taunting Hana (a black lab guide dog in training) as she relaxes in her cage. She'd love the chance to rummage through yarn...or chase bunnies! These furry friends keep us smiling, but who would have guessed they tend to help reduce risk factors of heart disease? We had our suspicions, but now we have proof that our pets are good for our health! 

The study of human-animal interaction is still relatively new, but it's no surprise that pets provide an outstanding number of benefits for people. Pets have a way of helping to improve our cardiovascular health. One NIH study found that of 421 adults who had suffered from a heart attack after one year, dog owners were more likely to be alive than those without a dog no matter how severe their heart attack. Another study found that 240 married couples with pets had lower heart rates and blood pressure than those without pets. 

Terry's kitty Riley :)

While our pets are helping to keep us healthy, we're making sure they are healthy, too. Terry's 3.5 year old cat, Riley, is fed a grain-free diet. Cats are carnivores and aren't adapted to eating a grain based diet. Many of the commercial cat foods have grain as the primary ingredient which can cause diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol in cats. Terry makes sure to keep Riley in tip-top shape! Buddy loves to run after tennis balls, in fact, he could chase a ball all day long if Laura's arm was up for a day full of playing fetch! Keeping our pets active helps to keep us active, too!