The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy [Hardcover]

Marty Becker (Author), Danelle Morton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2002

From Dr. Marty Becker, co-author of the bestsellers Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul, and Chicken Soup for the Cat and Dog Lovers Soul comes a groundbreaking new book that reveals the stirring stories and medical miracles behind the healing power of pets. Pets and people have been living together for thousands of years, but as pets have moved indoors, there have been extraordinary changes in the relationship. In the last twenty years, medical research has increasingly proven the healing effect pets can have for the ill, the elderly, the stressed-out, and the emotionally disengaged. Research shows that people with pet companions have fewer doctor visits and recover more quickly from severe illnesses. In The Healing Power of Pets, Dr. Marty Becker, resident vet on ABC-TVs Good Morning America shows readers how pets can prevent, detect, treat, and in some cases cure a variety of maladies, from arthritis to asthma, and from Alzheimers to depression. Pets decrease cardiovascular risk factors, motivate their sedentary owners to exercise, and help people deal with chronic pain. In addition, the book offers heartwarming true stories of pets who have enrichedeven savedtheir owners lives to reveal the lasting physical, emotional, and social benefits of the human-animal bond. For those of us who have always believed that pets enhance our lives and make us better human beings, Marty Becker drives the lesson home with compassion and wit. Our beloved animals never had a better friend. Nancy L. Snyderman, M.D. Dr. Becker steps confidently and competently into the animal-human arena, adding a strong voice for the healing powers of animals. Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers and Healers

Editorial Reviews

Review

" . . . that pets enhance our lives and make us better human beings . . . Our beloved animals never had a better friend." -- Nancy L. Snyderman, M.D., author of Necessary Journeys and Girl in the Mirror

". . . a pleasant 'must read' for everyone who is alone, worried, and could stand a good dose of friendship and affection." -- Isadore Rosenfeld, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.C., Health Editor of Parade; author of Symptoms and Live Now, Age Later; Distinguished Professor of Clinical Medicine, Cornell University-Weill Medical College

". . . may make directions to ones local animal shelter the best substitute for the prescription pad!" -- Martha C. Armstrong, Vice President for Companion Animals and Equine Protection, The Humane Society of the United States

"A captivating and heartwarming look at the fascinating role of pets and relationships in health and healing. . ." -- Marty Sullivan, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine; director, Science and Healing, Duke University Medical Center; Center for Integrative Medicine

"An easy style that will draw pet-owning readers." -- Booklist

"Becker steps confidently and competently into the animal-human arena, adding a strong voice for the healing powers of animals." -- Susan Chernak McElroy, author of Animals as Teachers and Healers

"The Healing Power of Pets reveals the completeness of animals and their ability to heal our lives. . . ." -- Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles and Be the Star You Are!

"This may be the best book on pets ever written! . . . warm, compassionate, entertaining and fun to read . . . Highly recommended!" -- Richard Carlson, Ph.D., author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

"We all know pets can be fun, but did you know that having a pet may have significant health benefits?" -- Dean Ornish, M.D., founder and president, Preventive Medicine Research Institute

About the Author

Dr. Marty Becker is the popular veterinary contributor to ABC- TV's Good Morning America. His highly regarded weekly newspaper column, 'The Bond,' is distributed internationally by Knight Ridder Tribune Services. Dr. Becker is also a contributing editor for Dog Fancy and Cat Fancy magazines, and is the chief veterinary correspondent for Amazon.com. He is the co-author of Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul. Dr. Becker lives in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

Danelle Morton is a Los Angeles-based writer with a distinguished journalism career. She has worked for publications ranging from The New York Times to People magazine, and has served as a foreign correspondent, state capital bureau chief, columnist, and associate bureau chief of People's Los Angeles bureau. She is the co-author of three books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (February 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786868082
• ISBN-13: 978-0786868087
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #731,671 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine balance of personal anecdotes and scientific info, November 16, 2003

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy (Hardcover)

The fact that this book was written by a co-author of "Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul" (a book that I loved) is one of the things that made me pick it up. However, "Healing Power of Pets" is more than a collection of animal anecdotes. There's a lot of good, solid scientific information woven in, too. Dr. Marty Becker, a veterinarian who has worked with Animal-Assisted Therapy programs, cites numerous studies which show that people who are bonded with their pet(s) lead longer, heathier lives.

On page 74, for example, he refers to a 1995 study conducted by Erka Friedmann, a professor at the Department of Health and Nutritional Studies at Brooklyn College. She recruited 392 patients who had suffered heart attacks and were part of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial. Of these, 87 owned dogs and 282 did not. A year later, only one of the dog owners had died, while 19 of the non-dog-owners had passed away. In other words, people who own a dog are far more likely to be alive a year after having a heart attack.

Why is this? Many reasons are given in the book: dog owners get more exercise, they take better care of themselves because they feel responsible for the dog, they relax while petting the dog, they are less lonely because of the dog, etc. Other studies have shown that the act of stroking an animal's fur lowers the human's blood pressure like a form of meditation.

As a Jewish educator reading this book, I could not help but reflect on the fact that, compared to the general population, far fewer Jews have pets. In the Orthodox and Hasidic communities, especially, it is rare to see a dog in the house. One reason is because dogs were used to track and kill people during the Holocaust and other persecutions, so they have bad associations for many Jews. I understand this. Still, I found myself wondering how many of those 282 non-dog-owners in the Brooklyn College study were Jewish. (Brooklyn has a high percentage of Jews.) Are we allowing Old World fears about dogs to deprive us of a valuable form of therapy?

The pet doesn't have to be a dog, however. Cats (of which I have ten!) are equally therapeutic. So are other species, such as birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, etc. Even watching a tank full of fish can help a person to relax. The important thing is the Bond between the animal(s) and the human(s). Reading this book confirmed in a scientific way what I have always believed in my heart: this special Bond is a healing gift that God designed into the very fabric of creation.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why we need to read Dr. Becker's book, now..., February 14, 2002

By 

Dr. Edward T.Creagan (Rochester, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy (Hardcover)

We are slowly killing ourselves. We drive too fast, eat too much, are sleep-deprived and are fried, frazzled and hassled. E multi-task til we drop. More of us commit suicide with a fork than with a gun. Laptops, desk tops, PDA's entomb us in an icy digital dungeon.

So what does this have to do with pets? Dr. Becker and Danelle Morton have crafted a brilliant story. We need the CAT scan and pills. But we also need the puppy and the kitten to heal our bodies, mend our minds and soothe our troubled souls. And make us smile again.

With rock-solid data from psychologists, immunologists and epidemiologists the authors take us by the hand and show the healing power of animals. The style is soft, comfortable and enticing. You cannot put this book away. The Bond between people, patiends and pets is real, assessble and can no longer be ignored.

But have a hankie handy. A guarantee: no one finishes the book with a dry eye. But we feel good about the tears. Like the kind we shed with a good laugh.

So, if we want to go the distance, live long enough to cash in the 403-b, read this book. It will change your life and you can bet on it.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This one is for Max, January 26, 2002

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Healing Power of Pets: Harnessing the Amazing Ability of Pets to Make and Keep People Happy and Healthy (Hardcover)

Though outside my normal lane of fiction, this reviewer read this book because of my love for dogs and cats. My spouse has remarked that my significant other was my beloved dog Max who has to be in heaven still emitting beams of healing to me. Along with Danelle Morton, Dr. Marty Becker of TV fame and author of some of the Chicken Soup books provides an insightful look at healing miracles involving pets. Medical research has begun to correlate the healthy relationship between a dog or a cat and a human especially a person in need of healing.

THE HEALING POWER OF PETS describes how animals cure or prevent illnesses and encourage couch potatoes to get off their butt and join them in activities. The authors also provide true-life stories of pets enhancing the lives of their owners often in miraculous ways that science does not understand in spite of gathering high statistical relationships between health and owners. This well-written book is clearly for pet lovers who know inside their hearts the meaning of "harnessing the amazing ability of pets to make and keep people healthy ".

Harriet Klausner