A letter from the editor

My dog saved me

If you know me, then you know my dog. If I am out and about, either my dog is in tow or she is at the office awaiting my return. Yes, it was a good day when me became we.

Dame Isabella Donna de Blanco and I have been a duo now for one whole year. Last year I decided that I needed to give myself a birthday gift.

Having owned cats for four years, I did not think of myself as a dog person. But there I was, scanning the animal shelter Web sites and the classified ads for a canine companion.

I found a local woman who was selling a variety of small dogs. I gave her a call and told her my price range.

She said she would bring by a couple of dogs for me to look over.

When she arrived at my home, she actually only brought one—and I instantly took out my checkbook.

Bella has become my best friend. Indeed, as one who believes in the witchier things of life, she is my familiar.

I told a good friend of mine once that his black lab was his familiar. He cocked his head to one side (the man, not the dog), and look confounded.

I explained that it is my belief that when one discovers his/her familiar, there is a bond that is closer than many human relationships we experience in life.

A familiar is a small piece of one's own soul that is born into animal form (hence the expression "familiar"). Well, I have no doubt that Bella is my familiar.

My little maltese/shih tzu mix is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

She is a true friend. She always listens, always understands, is always eager to see me, always forgives. She knows when I am hurting, and she gives me comfort. She lets me love her. She loves me back. It is the healthiest relationship I have ever known (although we are a bit codependent).

Dogs have amazing healing capabilities. Indeed, it is a proven scientific fact.

Dr. Marty Becker, a vet in Idaho and author of The Healing Power of Pets, has encountered dogs so tuned in to their owners' body language and chemistry that they've warned their masters (by barking or otherwise acting strangely) of impending medical problems.

Becker says that many pets have this ability, but like other "unseen gifts," their owners may not recognize the behavior pets use to signal them.

In the past 15 years, scientists have established the therapeutic value of animal companions.

In Cambridge, England, researchers discovered that, within a month of taking a cat or dog into their home, new owners reported a "highly significant" reduction in minor ailments.

The Baker Medical Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, showed that the health benefits were more far-reaching still.

A study of 6,000 patients revealed that those with pets had lower blood pressure, a lower cholesterol level and, as a result, a diminished risk of heart attack.

And American researchers have established that, even after a heart attack, pet owners are more likely than other coronary patients to be alive a year later.

The reasons are simple, experts say. Pets help us reduce our state of stress, which reduces blood pressure.

We are fulfilling our most primitive and basic need—the need to touch.

Animals are remarkable creatures. They deserve more than we, the human race, are currently providing. Thousands of animals are euthanized every year because they are homeless.

Whether you are a cat lover or a dog lover or a horse lover or a bunny lover or a ferret lover or a hamster lover, whatever, if you have a cherished pet, then you understand how important animals are.

Support your local Humane Society, because they understand too.

My dog saved my life, I know the least I can do is turn around and save another animal's life in return.