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Prescription: pets

England’s National Health Service is among a growing number of public agencies connecting people’s health with pets. According to Knight-Ridder Newspapers, the agency provides money for some chronically ill patients to purchase a dog via prescription.

“The premise of these English ‘pet prescriptions,’” notes article author Marty Becker, MD, “is that a dog provides an incentive for people to exercise and be social, deters depression while increasing the feeling of well-being, decreases doctor visits, shortens hospital stays, and greatly reduces prescription drug usage.”