Apparently, Dr. Adnan Qureshi, a stroke expert at the University of Minnesota performed a study recently that found cat owners to be less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than dog owners. The Minneapolis Star Tribune ran this story (http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/15858742.html [appearently, this page was only available for a little while — seems to be carried here as well: http://www.sacbee.com/749/story/730732.html) which was picked up by papers around the country. Apparently, cats provide better stress relief than dogs — though, I would bet that labs must have been excluded from the study. I get plenty of stress relief from my 80 lb lap dog that is loyal, unconditionally trusting, drags me a around the neighborhood on our “walks” — oh, and displays the judgement of an 80 lb toddler. And of course, anyone that has watched Cats and Dogs know that the only thing keeping our feline enemies in their place is our furry friend, the dog. 🙂
–TR