Your Pet, Your Pill: 101 Inspirational Stories About How Pets Lead You to a Happy, Healthy and Successful Life by Margit Gabriele Muller
Over the years, I have owned several dogs, a cat, a rabbit, gerbils and even fish. While I consider myself more of a “dog person,” I really love them all. I know firsthand about the unconditional love our pets give us and how they become our family — our “children” even — and how much it hurts when they leave us. Turns out that 67 percent of American households own at least one kind of pet — most often, it’s dogs, followed by cats, but also fish, birds, horses, and so on.
With a seeming nod to the beloved story, 101 Dalmatians, comes the multiple award-winning title Your Pet, Your Pill: 101 Inspirational Stories About How Pets Lead You to a Happy, Healthy and Successful Life (HSH Press). The author, Margit Gabriele Muller, has an impressive resume that includes a Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (specializing in falcon medicine, of all things), an MBA, and, since 2001, the position of Executive Director and Chief Veterinarian at the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital in the United Arab Emirates.
HEARTWARMING STORIES TO DELIGHT EVERY ANIMAL LOVER
Your Pet, Your Pill is packed with heartwarming stories that are a delight to any animal lover. It’s amazing how pets of all kinds — even birds and fish — can have a profound effect on their owners, whether by helping them deal with difficult challenges or generally improving quality of life and wellbeing. And they don’t need to be a service or therapy animal to do it.
There is the story of Angela, a badly scarred burn victim, who was able to return to a meaningful and successful life with the help and love of her birds; the author’s elderly Uncle Harry who gained physical and mental strength from his dog Filou; and seven-year-old Adil, who was bullied by the other children because of his deformed leg, but found unconditional love and companionship from his newly adopted puppy, Jamal — who had an amputated leg, giving Adil a friend who, in his words, was “just like me!”
Animals have been shown to help people with autism and PTSD. They can help with loneliness, depression and physical disabilities. They can give our lives meaning, keep us physically active and provide us with loving companionship.
Each story in the book is introduced with research and statistics about the importance of pets for our mental, emotional and physical health. These wonderful stories are separated into three distinct sections: “Pets and Happiness,” “Pets and Health” and “Pets and Success.”
MULLER DEEPENS OUR APPRECIATION FOR ANIMAL COMPANIONS
The book is also filled with great quotes about our pets:
- “Our animals provide the best company on our path through life.”
- “The kiss of a dog is the best medicine.”
- “Life with my animals is the secret of my happiness.”
- “The sun shines, not from the sky, but from the look in my dogs’ eyes.”
- “Animals are a daily reminder to live in the present, because they take life as it comes.”
Dr. Muller says that “pets can heal us so deeply; they are our best medicine for love, for laughter, for happiness, for joy, for health, and for success.” They can motivate us, support us and even be role models that help us to view ourselves and our challenges in a new, more positive light.
The stories in this book will reach deep into your soul. They will make you smile, make you cry and warm your heart. You’ll come away from them with a deeper appreciation for your animal companions. If you don’t currently own one, however, Your Pet, Your Pill will give you lots of food for thought about all the options out there — and might just be the medicine you need to take the plunge into pet adoption!
