PET

A pet (or companion animal) is a household animal kept for a person's enjoyment, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals and sport animals which are kept for economic reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their attractive appearances and their loyal or playful personalities. Their pedigree may also be a factor.
In some cases pets may also provide their owners with benefits, such as providing companionship to elderly adults who do not have adequate social interaction with other people.While some people believe in the physical and emotional benefits of owning a pet, scientists are currently working to verify these ideas with medical studies. There is now a medically approved class of "therapy animals", mostly dogs, that are brought to visit confined humans.
Pet therapy utilizes trained animals and handlers to achieve specific physical, social, cognitive, and emotional goals with patients.Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction.
The most popular pets are dogs and cats, but there are also rodent pets, such as gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas, fancy rats, and guinea pigs; avian pets, such as canaries, parakeets, and parrots; reptile pets, such as turtles, lizards and snakes; and aquatic pets, such as tropical fish and frogs.

Local restrictions

Many cities and towns have local ordinances limiting the number of pets a person may have, although a certain number of animals may be kept for business purposes. They may also restrict or forbid certain pets, such as exotics. Certain breeds of dog, such as the pit bull and the Rottweiler, are banned in some places. Canid hybrids, created by breeding dogs with other members of the canine family, may be banned in some places. Semi-exotic cats, such as the Savannah, are also banned in some locations

Health benefits

Pets have the ability to stimulate their caregivers, in particular the elderly, giving people someone to take care of, someone to exercise with, and someone to help them heal from a physically or psychologically troubled past.Having a pet may help people achieve health goals, such as lowered blood pressure, or mental goals, such as decreased stress. There is evidence that having a pet can help a person lead a longer, healthier life. In a study of 92 people hospitalized for coronary ailments, within a year 11 of the 29 patients without pets had died, compared to only 3 of the 52 patients who had pets.Pet ownership was shown to significantly reduce triglycerides, and thus heart disease risk, in the elderly

Health risks

Health risks that are associated with pets include:

• Aggravation of allergies and asthma caused by dander and fur or feathers
• Falling injuries. Tripping over pets, especially dogs, causes more than 86,000 falls serious enough to prompt a trip to the emergency room each year in the United States.Among elderly and disabled people, these falls have resulted in life-threatening injuries and broken bones.
• Injuries, maulings and sometimes deaths caused by pet bites and attacks
• Disease and/or parasites due to animal hygiene problems or lack of appropriate treatment (faeces and urine)
• Stress caused by behaviour of animals
• Fear or distress from animal presence or behaviour
• Spread of diseases like the fatal rabies when not properly taken care of.

                                                                                                                                source: wikipedia.org