Increasingly, research shows that older adults can benefit in myriad ways from the companionship of an animal.

Physical health benefits

Pets seem to help us stay calm in the midst of stress:

- Reduced blood pressure and heart rate. Some research shows improvement even when the “pet” is fish swimming in an aquarium!
- Strengthened immune system. One study found an increase in an infection-fighting blood factor.
- Fewer pain medications. Adults who had pet therapy while recovering from joint replacement used 50% less pain drugs than those who did not.

Mood and activity benefits

For elders living alone, pets may provide a kind of companionship essential to well-being. Older pet owners are believed to be more active than their peers. One study even showed that older adults with pets go to the doctor less often than those without.

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We’re breathing all the time. But when it comes to stress relief, not all breathing is equal.

The body’s stress cycle

- Our bodies are built to handle periodic crises. When we sense danger, our bodies release “stress hormones” that enable us to respond powerfully and fast. When the crisis is over, those hormones are no longer released. The body returns to relaxed, “normal” mode.

- But chronic stress is damaging. When we’re stressed every day, the “fight-or-flight” hormones keep running. Not a lot, but enough to upset the body’s balance and undermine physical health and mood. The body is distracted from its routine tasks of repair and maintenance. This can result in significant consequences.

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As we face the possibility that we are in the last chapter of our lives, our priorities suddenly change. Life’s details may fade to the background, and we may find ourselves looking at its deeper meanings. Old conflicts pale in importance, and the desire to resolve difficulties with family relationships often comes to the fore. Serious illness presents an opportunity to evaluate one’s life. People often reflect upon their accomplishments and even humbly acknowledge their regrets. When facing a serious illness, we commonly think about what remains undone and focus on addressing those issues one day at a time.

Luis is a 68-year-old man who has advanced diabetes. His kidneys are starting to fail. When he is honest with himself, he realizes that the dialysis is only a temporary solution. Although he was religious in his youth, he has not been to church in many decades. As he concedes that his illness is quite serious, spirituality is becoming more important to him. He spends quite a bit of time seeking his own interpretation of the meaning of life.

As the days and weeks pass, Luis goes back and forth between periods of hope and periods of letting go. Both he and his family are grieving, yet they have also become aware of the gifts his illness has revealed. For instance, Luis has been able to mend some of the rifts in his relationships and has resolved a long-time family conflict with his daughter that separated them for more than 15 years.

Although they are uncomfortable thinking about his death, his family caregivers know it is inevitable and are doing their best to make him comfortable. Still, it is extremely difficult to watch someone you care about gradually decline, with little hope of getting better. His children are also concerned about their mother. They hope that when the time comes, they will be able to band together and support her, and each other, in their mourning.

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