¶ … humans benefit from their pets? There is no doubt that many individuals and families love their pets and derive a great deal of psychological satisfaction from pets -- especially elderly people that may otherwise become lonely without their dogs, cats and other pets. But according to an article in Time magazine, several studies reflect the fact that pets can provide a great deal of support for the physical and psychological well-being of the individual owner of the pet. Journalist Laura Blue explains that these research studies show that pets provide comfort and benefits similar to the comfort and benefit people derive from their human friends. Researchers from Miami University and Saint Louis University launched a research project ("The Science of Women and Cats: The Bond is Real") that was designed to test whether pets can really "fulfill one's social needs" -- that is, make a person feel "connected and in control of one's life" (Blue, 2011). The results of the research group -- that was led by Allen McConnell at Miami University...

The study determined (through the use of "standard psychological measure of social needs fulfillment") that dogs "…did indeed help their owners to meet social needs" and moreover, those owners "felt better about life as a result" (Blue). The researchers determined that degree of fulfillment dog owners received was "beneficial no matter how much support the owners were already getting from other people" (Blue). The bottom line of the second research project Blue points to is that regardless of how much human companionship a…