sardean: I love it when my dogs are around me. They love to be around me too. It really does help with stress.

We haven't had pets at home for a number of years but I do recall a time post crack-up... a friend's cat used to come sit on my lap and I found my stress levels would drop substantially just from stroking her fur, hearing her purr, and watching her silly cat antics. It's no wonder to me that so many people identify pets as being helpful.