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A healthy relationships
Pet ownership can have a positive impact on mental, physical well-being
AMY NEFF ROTH
healthy living
Beth and Bob Tegart's dog of 14 years died just as their two children were leaving home. Tired of an empty house, it took them only five months to get a new puppy.
After some difficult puppy months, Rosie, a golden retriever, has matured into a marvelous companion who keeps her owners active, cuts down on their stress, provides a pick-up after bad days and provides lots of the "warm and fuzzy stuff," said Beth Tegart of Clinton.
"She seems to pick up on your mood and so, when things are a little bit crazy, suddenly there's that head under your hand. (She) wants some petting, wants some time with me. Suddenly you focus on that and forget about the bad day that you've had," Tegart said.
"I would really miss not having a four-legged friend in the house."
Tegart also said she believes she is healthier because of Rosie.
"She needs a lot of exercise so that means we get a lot of exercise. We walk her twice a day, minimum of 30 minutes, sometimes an hour," she said.
Those walks also connect the Tegarts with changes in the neighborhood, such as what's growing at the moment, and lets them see more of their neighbors, Beth Tegart said.
And Rosie helps her keep perspective, she said.
"It's nice to focus on something else and think the world is not always about me," Tegart said. "There's something else there to draw your attention."
'I wouldn't know what to do without her'
Stacey Mayne of Richfield Springs didn't want a dog - until she met Kerri.
Her husband and two sons talked her into stopping by the Stevens-Swan Humane Society in Utica to meet the black, year-old pit bull, Mayne said. Kerri immediately started licking Mayne's face and she was lost. Mayne went back to visit her two or three times before Kerri joined the family's cat and goldfish in January.
"Kerri is just the biggest baby that there is. She's wonderful. I can't even describe ... I don't know how people passed her up," Mayne said.
Now Kerri is Mayne's "bed buddy" while her husband works nights, she said. "I have comfort because I know she's there. She would protect the family, I think. She's pretty loyal," Mayne said.
During the day, Kerri plays Frisbee and ball with the boys, ages 10 and 7. Stacey said in the evening the dog hangs out with her, curling up nearby or snuggling next to her.
"She's changed my way of thinking about that breed. She's brought more love into our house. I can't wait to go home and see her at night ... I wouldn't know what to do without her."
Cats soothe, keep people company
Larry Ortlieb is a cat lover who's learned the hard way that you can get too much of a good thing.
"Two cats, three cats, four cats, probably OK. Don't get 15," advised the Little Falls resident and business owner who said he's found himself the victim of behavioral problems caused by clashing temperaments. And when problems do arise, it's hard to figure out who's doing what and why, he said.
Ortlieb lives surrounded by cats. He's got six in his Little Falls home, 15 in his Little Falls country home and about 50 living in the back room of his furniture store, Valley Home Furnishings, which serves as an adoption shelter for Community Animal Programs. And there are more rescue cats living in a heated outbuilding at his country home.
Ortlieb said he's always had cats at home, then he bought a cat to keep his father company in what is now Ortlieb's home. But that led to more and more cats after his father passed away because Ortlieb just couldn't live without this one and that one, he said.
Despite the effort and frustration of living with so many cats, they still amuse Ortlieb. "They all have different personalities," he said.
And Ortlieb admitted he doesn't get lonely very often and he's still soothed by the sound of a purring cat. |
