In case you haven't noticed, you're getting older. And you're not alone; time waits for no man, woman, or four-legged friend.
A closer look : Enabling older clients
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Your clients are living longer, more prosperous lives than any generation before. Driven by the baby boom bulge, the number
of people aged 65 and older will steadily increase from 34.8 million in 2000 to 53.7 million in 2020, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau—an increase of 54 percent. Even more striking, the number of people 85 years old and older will more than double
to 6.8 million by 2020.
What this means for veterinary practitioners is obvious—in the future you'll need to do an excellent job serving the needs
of older clients. Not sure how to cater to this aging generation? Start with this: What older clients need is ... a pet.
A scientific prescription for pets Alan Beck and Aaron Katcher, MD, are the fathers of the notion of the "pet prescription." In the early 1980s when veterinarians
and teachers approached the concept of the human-animal bond from the animal side, Beck and Dr. Katcher approached the idea
from the human side. One of the first, and most influential, studies, "Animal Companions and One-Year Survival of Patients After Discharge From
a Coronary Care Unit," was published by Erika Friedmann, Katcher, and others in Public Health Reports in 1980. Their findings suggested that pet owners experienced better survival rates in their first year after being discharged
from a coronary care unit than those without pets. Since then, the idea that pets are good for health and the science behind
the theory have been refined by researchers who continue to document the benefits of pet ownership.
Two theories guide current research. One is the biophilia hypothesis, which supposes humans developed a hard-wired need for
communion with animals in their earliest hunting and gathering days. The second is the social support theory, which posits
health benefits from human social contact. Researchers see only a small step separating pets from being viewed as full-fledged
family members that contribute a special and important kind of social support.
In 1987, Beck, who holds a doctorate of science degree in animal ecology, told attendees of a National Institutes of Health
workshop on the health benefits of pets that "all future studies of human health should consider the presence or absence of
a pet in the home .... No future study of human health should be considered comprehensive if the animals with which (the subjects)
share their lives are not included."
One solution for fretful clients: Give them a job
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Older people, in particular, seem to benefit from owning pets. In a 2002 article co-authored by Nancy Edwards, Beck points
out Alzheimer's disease "will reach epidemic proportions by the middle of this century, increasing by 350 percent by 2050,
unless effective methods for prevention and treatment are developed." The study examined the effects of animal-assisted therapy,
specifically fish aquariums, on the eating habits of Alzheimer's patients. The result: Nutritional intake and weight increased
significantly.
Of course, popular literature has long been full of feel-good stories about the health benefits of pets. Beck, who heads the
Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, says he continues to be amused at parties
when people say to him, "Did you know that when you pet an animal your blood pressure goes down?" That's no news to Beck,
as he and Dr. Katcher did the original study. Since then, a dozen universities have created centers to study the effects of
animals on humans.
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