You're the Best Friend That I Ever Had!

The only dog I like, Kipper!

My double-stuffed cookie, Oreo!

My wild child, Pizza!

To me my pets (which are basically my children) are truly my best friends. When I am having a down day they know and will snuggle with me and make me smile. When I am happy they are always ready to play games and go outside. Not only do my pets make me a happier person (minus the sneezing attacks at 5:00 in the morning) they may even make me live longer! There was a study done by the Minnesota Stroke Institute that over 10 years followed over 4,000 cat owners and their findings are enough to make me want to keep my cats! They found that owning a cat can reduce a person's chance of dying from heart disease, have a 30% less chance of a risk of a heart attack, and have lower stress levels! In Forbes: Ten Ways to Live Longer, they list having an animal to adding years onto your life.

Throughout my own experience I know that having cats has reduced my stress levels, even when I was a kid. Whenever I was having a bad day I would go out to the cat shack and play with all of the kittens and cats. Sometimes I would bring a book and blanket and sit out there for hours with them. When I lived in the dorms I hated not having a cat so there was no question about it as soon as I got out of them I would get one! Of course I had to talk Dad into letting me bring Pizza into the house but since we had an evil neighbor dog I convinced him! For the first few months I had her she was confined to my bedroom and sometimes the whole upstairs. Soon we moved to Winona so then she got a whole apartment. In October we decided that when we were gone on the weekends she got to lonely! So what do I do, I go to a farm and bring Oreo home as a surprise for Pizza and Jese! It took Pizza over a week to like Oreo but now they love each other! For the next three years it was just me, Jese, Pizza, and Oreo but then I had another craving! I wanted another cat but Jese said no, so what do I do, I go buy a dog!! After always saying that I hate dogs I got one!! Kipper joined our family this summer at first it was very hard! Pizza and Oreo never came out of hiding, they hated him!! Now that we have moved into our house it has gotten much better. Pizza will snuggle up with Kipper and I on the couch and they both sleep in bed every night with us. Oreo is still struggling with having a puppy around. She doesn't like being chased very much! She is slowly starting to warm up to him now though. She even slept with us two nights ago! Without my pets I would be a very sad person, they keep me company when Jese is at work. I recommend that anyone without a pet should go rescue one right now so they can live a longer and happier life!

Christa