In addition to reducing anxiety and lowering blood pressure and glucose levels, "A pet is nonjudgmental, accepting and attentive, it doesn't talk back, criticize or give orders, offers companionship, and provides you with the opportunity to take care of another living thing" (Schwartz 26). In many situations the fact that someone feels needed and depended on tends to alleviate stress almost immediately. Many tests have been performed to support this opinion, and the results supporting it have been on the rise.
A recent study on the stress-relieving effect of pet ownership, which was conducted by the State University of New York researchers Joseph Izzo and Karen Allen, seem to confirm the belief that animals do reduce stress in humans. .
"The study called for paring brokers to be wired to heart and blood pressure monitors and then to solve a series of math puzzles and deal with a variety of hypothetical, but very plausible, situations. This second part, said the researchers, required subjects to do exactly what they would normally do daily--use their verbal ability to handle a variety of complex, difficult circumstances. For example, they were asked to imagine confronting a client who had just lost the bulk of his or her assets due to the broker's faulty advice" (Forman 4).
Joseph Izzo and Karen Allen found that "reps who owned pets were able to relax-that is, lower their blood pressure--significantly faster than their non-pet-owning colleagues" (Forman 4).
Within the last few years many businesses (mainly in California) have started allowing employees to bring their pets to work with them. In all actuality "the job market is so competitive in California that pet policies are used to attract employees," says Leslie Kranz, marketing events manager, Advent Software Inc. "When companies like Advent place want ads, they mention [the pet policies]" (Forman 4) in hopes of attracting and retaining good employees.
