is pet ownership actually good for our health?

I came across an article today about a psychologist who thinks we should look carefully at claims that pet ownership is universally good for us.

It's generally accepted that it is, but according to Harold Herzog, Professor of Psychology at the Western Carolina University, we need to investigate this claim in more scientifically rigorous ways. He says that previous reports

often suffer from methodological problems, such as small, homogeneous samples, lack of appropriate control groups, and reliance on self-report to measure participants' health and well-being.

I feel that having Penny live with us has been good for everyone in our household, but I certainly don't know any way to prove that, because I don't know how things would have been if we had not brought her home. Somewhere on the Net, as I browsed yesterday, I saw a piece about introducing a new dog into the household, and it made the interesting point that once a dog comes into the home we cease to be individuals and become a de facto 'pack'. I think that's a good thing.

a dog, a blowfly and a spider

Penny eats blowflies.

It came about because, in her impressionable youth, she encountered a mystery infestation of newly-hatched blowflies in our house and thought it great fun to chase them and eat them.

Disgusting, I know. But dogs don't seem to understand the concept of disgust. (And, from reading the article I've just linked to, no-one completely understands the function of disgust in human psychology.)

Anyway, back to blowflies. (I hope your sense of disgust hasn't kicked in so strongly that you've already clicked away from this post.)

One of Penny's humans reported that she was 'licking the front window'. That seemed so strange that I jumped up from the computer, where I was reporting on our walk to Fairfield Boathouse this morning, and went to check it out.

Frenzied buzzing explained it all. A fly was caught in a spider web at the side of the window where Penny keeps an eye on the street.





'Leave it! I snapped. Too late. She'd pinched the spider's lunch. And the little spider, about the size of a fly itself, was coming out to see what the problem was.





You can't live in Australia without co-existing amicably with spiders, but the thought of the spider biting Penny on the mouth or nose had me worried. So Penny had to go into prison behind a baby gate while I chased the spider up and down the narrow rim of the window with a folded-up Woolworths receipt.

Success! The spider is out in a nice little pile of empty plant pots, and Penny is back at the window.

I just hope the fly went down without causing any stomach problems!