Yes, pets are cute, but there’s more to it than that. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that pets keep us healthier. Regular walking or playing with an animal can contribute to reducing cholesterol and blood pressure. Companionship from an animal, whether furry or scaly or slimy, can help humans manage loneliness and depression.
Of course, there are reasons other than health that a majority of American households include a pet. If you’re among those 70 percent who do, you know there’s a unique kind of love between human and animal – and yes, it can even penetrate a glass tank.
Of course, it’s not all love and cuddles. Pet ownership comes with a lot of responsibility and there are decisions to make and, of course, expenses. This edition of our annual Pet Issue devotes a good deal of attention to the financial side of pet parenting: Can you afford the best pet food (and is it worth paying for), and how can you manage an unexpected veterinary bill? There are, of course, more frivolous decisions too, like where to take your pooch out for a burger.
These, and a range of other questions humans might be asking about animals, are included in this issue.