Is having a pet good for you? The fuzzy science of pet ownership
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For more than a decade, in blog posts and scientific papers and public talks, the psychologist Hal Herzog has questioned whether owning pets makes people happier and healthier.
It is a lonely quest, convincing people that puppies and kittens may not actually be terrific for their physical and mental health. βWhen I talk to people about this,β Herzog recently said, βnobody believes me.β A prominent professor at a major public university once described him as βa super curmudgeonβ who is, in effect, βtrying to prove that apple pie causes cancer.β
As a teenager in New Jersey in the 1960s, Herzog kept dogs and cats, as well as an iguana, a duck, and a boa constrictor named Boa. Now a professor emeritus at Western Carolina University, he insists heβs not out to smear anyoneβs furry friends. In a blog post questioning the so-called pet effect, in 2012, Herzog included a photo of his cat, Tilly. βShe makes my life better,β he wrote. βPlease Donβt Blame The Messenger!β