Pets good for owners’ health

PETS are good for the physical and emotional health of people, young and old, it was claimed yesterday.

One of the country’s leading pet vets, Pete Wedderburn of BrayVET Animal Hospital, told an animal health conference that children who grow up with pets around them are likely to be more confident and socially adept.

He also told the conference run by the Animal and Plant Health Association at Killenard, Co Laois, the presence of pets in the house significantly reduces the risk of a child having asthma, as long as their mother does not have the condition.