Considering a recent study that found Michiganders were more motivated to give up smoking for the sake of their pets than their own health, you shouldn't be surprised to learn why a British pet expert concluded pet owners were better off walking their dogs than having health club memberships.

Based on a study of some 5,000 patients, including 3,000 dog owners, the proof is all about the numbers. Only 16 percent of the respondents polled enjoyed exercising in a gym, while some 70 percent considered going to one a chore.

Conversely, only 22 percent of the dog owners polled felt walking the dog was work, a far cry from the 86 percent who enjoyed daily walks with their furry companions. What's more, non-dog owners generally exercised far less on their own or in a gym (90 minutes every week) as compared to folks who walked their canines about eight hours a week on average. Even more revealing, 47 percent of all non-pet owners admitted they did no exercise at all.

Learn more about the impact of pet ownership on your health, via the Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) program launched two years ago by our sister organization, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, that uses our four-legged friends to ease the anxiety, pain, discomfort and stress felt by cancer patients and their loved ones in this awesome feature.

And, if you're not too tired of watching everyone else playing and exercising with their own four-legged family members (think the Cable TV mainstay Animal Planet), watch this video from Better.tv for a first-hand look at the range of health benefits connected with pet ownership.

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UPI.com January 1, 2010

Telegraph.co.uk November 27, 2009

Amazing, but true, your adorable, precocious medium-sized dog whose presence in your life is a boon to your health, and, only occasionally a burden, also generates a carbon footprint larger than an SUV.

Taking into account the land needed to grow the food to feed a dog, a New Zealander couple who wrote the book Time to Eat The Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living calculated a medium-sized Fido has a carbon footprint of slightly more than 2 acres. By comparison, a Toyota Land Cruiser that gets an estimated 18 MPG in highway driving and is driven an unrealistic 6,200 miles annually generates a footprint about half that size or 1.01 acres.

Cat owners aren't in the clear either, as the average feline's carbon footprint is about a third of an acre, slightly less than what it takes to drive a Volkswagen Golf annually. And, the land required to feed all the felines living in just the top 10 cat-owning countries in the world amounts to 400,000 square kilometers, or 1.5 times the size of New Zealand. (All of the calculations made in the aforementioned book were independently calculated and verified by the Stockholm Environment Institute.)

Assuming getting rid of your pets is not an option for everyone reading this post, here are some things you can do to lessen their impact on the environment:

* Train your cat to use the litter box and don't flush their remains down the toilet or let them "do their business" outdoors.

* When walking your dog, stay away from wildlife areas, protecting more fragile ecosystems.

* Because meat production accounts for much of a pet's "eco-footprint," be a little more mindful about your furry family member's diet.

Physorg.Com December 21, 2009

New Scientist October 23, 2009

With the flu season in full swing, many folks are wondering if this current strain of H1N1 swine flu may be an issue for their four-legged family members. The answer, according to pet experts, is a fairly straight-forward "No," depending on the health and smarts of their owners.

Although many pet owners began worrying early on, after reports started surfacing in early October about a handful of cats and ferrets testing positive for H1N1, the spread of swine flu actually began even sooner, in the summer among livestock (pigs and turkeys), says Dr. Chris Olsen, a public health professor and associate dean at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.

To date, however, there have been no reported H1N1 cases among dogs in the U.S. The problem isn't Annie T. Cat or Larry and his ferret family passing on the flu to their Pet Parents. Fact is, it's the other way around...

The consensus among the experts suggests that humans sickened by H1N1 may be passing it on to their pets. What's more, an advisory from The Humane Society of the United States reports animals infected with H1N1 suffer from many of the same symptoms as do their owners (sneezing, coughing, lethargy and labored breathing, to name just a few).

The best ways to protect your pets from swine flu mirror those very same common-sense considerations you extend to other humans: Wash your hands often, especially before and after contact with sick two-legged members of your family, and, if you're sick, keep your distance from them until you're feeling better.

Pets can save your health and your life just by being their attention-starved selves. Don't forget to return the favor...

Colorado State University December 4, 2009

Humane Society of the United States November 30, 2009

Healthfinder.gov November 4, 2009

There's a growing body of evidence demonstrating how pets save our health and our lives, sometimes through special training and occasionally by their heroic deeds, but more often than not, just by being their finicky, attention-starved selves.

With pets living in at least 60 percent of all American homes, it's no wonder pet ownership has been linked to improved health, especially among seniors and patients recovering from major illnesses, as far back as a 2005 study in the British Medical Journal.

In fact, a more recent study of some 3,300 patients in southeastern Michigan demonstrated how smokers are more inclined to kick the habit to protect the lives of their pets than to improve their own health. Moreover, nearly 30 percent of the smokers polled vowed to give up smoking, and some 23 percent more said they would asked their living partners to give up smoking or ask them to smoke outdoors.

So much so, the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction is jointly sponsoring a conference later this month in Kansas City that will explore the human-animal bond and how it affects the health and lives of both for the good.

With that in mind, you'll want to watch this heart-warming video about a Katrina volunteer who survived all the rigors associated with breast cancer -- not to mention a broken neck -- thanks to her love for protecting animals and one particular dog she "couldn't imagine leaving behind."

ScienceDaily, September 29, 2009

ScienceDaily February 10, 2009

CNN.com December 9, 2008

ScienceDaily November 25, 2005

Although it certainly sounds far-fetched, a growing body of research is proving how an animal's extraordinary sense of smell may detect such diseases as tuberculosis, diabetes and even certain forms of cancer.

Some of the more interesting results have come from the Pine Street Foundation, a California-based non-profit group whose mission is to help cancer patients make better treatment decisions through education and research, through their work with dogs. Just three years ago, international research funded by the foundation discovered that a dog's keen sense of smell could rule out or detect the presence of early or late-stage lung and breast cancer an astonishing 90 percent of the time.

With the support of governmental funding, Pine Street researchers are taking the "sniff" test a step further, to determine if a trained group of dogs can detect early-stage ovarian cancer in samples of exhaled breath.

What's more, an Irish study published late last year in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine tracked anecdotal reports from 212 dog owners, all Type 1 diabetics, who reported warnings from their pets about hypoglycemic events.

Even more amazing is how the African pouched rat can be trained to detect explosives as well as tuberculosis cells in a Petri dish more efficiently than conventional methods, as you can see in this awesome YouTube video.

Pine Street Foundation May 14, 2009

People: Pets August 18, 2009

Health.com August 16, 2009

National Geographic June 2, 2009

Your dog could be exposed to fluoride levels as much as 2.5 times greater than the national standard for drinking water set by the EPA in their dog food, according to independent testing funded by the Environmental Working Group. Out of 10 national brands tested, the amount of fluoride detected in eight brands of dog food exceeded levels that were linked to a greater risk of bone cancer among young boys in a Harvard study conducted three years ago.

The likely culprit: Ingredients described as a "animal meal" product -- think chicken meal and beef and bone meal -- consist of ground bones that are cooked, dried and made to be a cheap filler for dog food. The eight brands under the under scrutiny contained almost 9 milligrams per kilogram.

Putting the percentages into perspective, the average canine may drink as much as 0.5-1.0 milligrams of fluoride from tap water per kilogram of body weight. Feeding your 10-pound dog a cup of dog food may expose him to as much as .25 milligrams of fluoride every day.

For the record, more than 8,000 dogs are diagnosed annually with osteosarcoma, the most common kind of malignant bone cancer, at a rate nine times greater than their owners.

Environmental Working Group June 26, 2009

Environmental Working Group Research June 2009

Not only will the right mix of supplements complement the diet and enhance the continuing health of Mr. Fido as he reaches his own Baby Boomer years, you may be surprised to learn the market for pet nutritional products is booming, exceeding $1 billion annually.

Before you head for the pet store, however, Dr. Tod Cooperman of ConsumerLab.com warns the quality of supplements made for pets is worse than those marketed for their two-legged owners.

Some tips for evaluating the right nutritional mix for your Fluffy from Dr. John Bauer of Texas A&M University's College of Veterinary Medicine:

* Learn more from your veterinarian about the functional, active ingredients in that specific product and don't hesitate to contact the manufacturer for more information.

* Ensure all the ingredients can be safely tolerated by your pet.

* Use the very same scrutiny in rigorously evaluating the foods your pet eats as you would any other nutritional product.

Examiner.com May 22, 2009

AgWeek May 15, 2009

CNN December 11, 2007