Iris Tines brushes her feline companion, Falcon, while resting in her room at Colonial Manor. Photo by Clinton Lewis

Janet Roark is convinced her poodle soothes her into better health. I know from my own experience that it helps my own blood pressure considerably to stroke a dog or talk to a dog, the Franklin woman said. It makes me feel calm. Recent research indicates that just watching a fish swim in a bowl can lower a persons blood pressure, Western Kentucky University psychology professor Ernie Owen said. But pets can do more than calm folks. Experts and animal lovers agree that pets can play a significant role in a persons emotional life. Its very affirming for a person to have a pet be so accepting, and probably that pet owner feels he can be loving, said Corrie Vos, a clinical psychologist in Bowling Green. People may feel good around pets because pets are not judgmental, Owen said. Were social beings and depend on social contact with others, he said. With other human beings, were so sophisticated we guard ourselves and guard our feelings because were afraid well get hurt if we take a risk. Vos agreed. I believe the relationship with a pet is less complicated than it is with people there are fewer requirements and demands, she said. (There is) less chance for misunderstandings. Were more direct in our communications with pets. Such acceptance is one reason young patients with emotional problems from Cumberland Hall psychiatric hospital in Hopkinsville participate in New Beginnings Therapeutic Riding Program in Bowling Green, said Leslie Helmig, a recreational therapist at Cumberland Hall. This (one) child (from Cumberland Hall) is from a biracial home and feels often she doesnt fit in, is excluded by both worlds, Helmig said. When shes at the stable with her horse, all that seems to drift away. While the riding program focuses on helping participants including those with physical disabilities build physical, mental and emotional strength through riding and caring for horses, it also helps the children build self-confidence, Helmig said. Handling a large horse it makes a child feel in charge and in control, Helmig said. It also can help a person who has been shown little love himself feel comfortable showing affection, according to Helmig. They can show love to their animal and care to the animal (that) they didnt get, she said. And they form a bond they may not get from their family. Vos said caring for a pet also lends children a sense of importance. Making sure the pet is taken care of can be good training for later responsibilities and can lead to greater self-confidence, more self-esteem and probably happiness, she said. The feeling of happiness pets often lend their owners also stems from the power of touch, Owen said. With animals, the connection is physical, he said. Touch is our most important contact and thats the way we communicate with animals. Owen said people get physical contact from pets that they miss out on with humans. Studies have shown that most Americans dont get enough hugs per day, Owen said. Americans often tend to think of hugging in a sexual light, he added. Research earlier this century indicated that babies who dont get enough physical contact wither away and die, Owen said, despite having other physical needs met. Touch is so significant and we overlook it, Owen said. Very often, older people living alone or in a nursing home might not get the touch they need. At Colonial Manor Nursing Home in Bowling Green, residents can get the loving touch of several animals. Cuddles, a small black and gray dog, often is seen trotting up and down the corridors of the home in search of friendly hands that want to feed her. Shes more often spotted lying close to Glen Meredith, the 73-year-old resident shes adopted as her owner. The residents love him, resident services coordinator Leann Davis said. One woman saves her bacon for him. Falcon, a gray cat, and several small finches also reside at Colonial Manor. The pets are part of the homes Eden Alternative, a program that incorporates pets into the nursing home environment to make the residents feel at home. Davis and other employees sometimes bring their pets to the home for the residents to enjoy. Last Thursday, a small black and tan dog weaved in and out of wheelchair traffic on his way to greet residents. Its almost like being at home, said 87-year-old resident Iris Tines, who took Falcon the cat under her wing. Tines has converted part of her closet into a daytime sleeping space for Falcon, who sleeps on the foot of her bed at night. She keeps his food and litter box in her room and brushes him twice a day. She can talk to him and it keeps her from being lonely, said Joann Franklin, Tines daughter. Meredith enjoys just having Cuddles follow him around. From the first time she came, in shes been my buddy, he said, looking down at the little dog that lay at the foot of his wheelchair. Still is. She makes it better; shes a loving dog. Because pets can give people companionship, their passing can bring about very real grief, Vos said. In my observations, from what people have told me, their pets mean a lot to them and they can be devastated when a pet dies, she said. That shows how important they can be in a persons life. Vos said some people think of their pet almost like a child. Karen McGinnis, owner of Wags-N-Whiskers in Bowling Green, said she still grieves the loss of a pet German Shepherd her father accidentally ran over when she was 12.I can still cry about her when I talk about her, McGinnis said. I havent had a bond with another dog and I think its because I never allowed myself to. But thats changing. McGinnis currently is making plans to relocate because her landlord will not allow her to keep her pet rottweiler on the property where she lives. Im not getting rid of my dog if I have to move out of the state, she said. McGinnis considers her dogs, including a pekingese, to be her friends. I talk to my dogs like theyre humans, she said. I know theyre not, but… my animals are the ones who calm me. I get upset real easy and humans arent the ones who calm me. Owen knows someone else who feels the days problems slip away when hes around animals. Ive worked with horses for a large part of my adult life and Ive had a lot of people tell me horses were their therapy, Owen said. Last week, a high school principal told me that he can have a bad day and then be with horses and he forgets all about it. Lee Davis, owner of Bowling Green Pipe and Tobacco Shoppe, said her 22-pound cat, Occie, who can daily be seen sitting in the window of her store on East Main Avenue, is a friend to some of her customers as well as to her. Hell be two (at) the end of July, she said. Hes been here every day. I have people who come by just to see him.