Pets and people have been living together for thousands of years, but as pets have moved indoors, there have been extraordinary changes in the relationship. In the last twenty years, medical research has increasingly proven the healing effect pets can have for the ill, the elderly, the stressed-out, and the emotionally disengaged. Research shows that people with pet companions have fewer doctor visits and recover more quickly from severe illnesses. In The Healing Power of Pets, Dr. Marty Becker, resident vet on ABC-TV's Good Morning America, shows readers how pets can prevent, detect, treat, and in some cases cure a variety of maladies, from arthritis to asthma, and from Alzheimer's to depression. Pets decrease cardiovascular risk factors, motivate their sedentary owners to exercise, and help people deal with chronic pain.

In addition, the book offers heart-warming true stories of pets who have enriched--even saved--their owner's lives to reveal the lasting physical, emotional, and social benefits of the human-animal bond.