Animal Science

Two men in their late 60’s have an identical health situation. They both need triple bypass surgery because of blocked coronary arteries. They are both scheduled for surgery. In both cases the surgery goes well. The patients are sent home in a few days with specific instructions. These two cases are as similar as they can be; they are both single, their physical ailment is identical, they are the same age and in roughly the same physical health before the cardiac incident, the surgery is equally successful and immediate recovery and discharge from the hospital is identical. The main difference is one has a pet dog at home, the other one lives alone. The patient with the pet recovers in half the time. Why? 1List 2 or 3 factors you think might be involved in the quicker recovery of the patient with a pet. 2 How can owning a pet increase stress chemicals in some and decrease them in others?            

Sample Solution