Swiss Survey Finds No Health Benefits from Pet Ownership

Researchers from the University of Basel analyzed responses from 2,328 Swiss adults in a nationally representative survey. The study found that simply owning a pet was not linked to better overall health, lower loneliness, or higher life satisfaction. Women, dog owners and people who spent more time with animals reported stronger emotional attachment and greater perceived support from their pets. However, pet owners rated their health slightly worse than non‑owners and smoked about 0.19 more cigarettes per day on average. Lead author Rahel Marti said, "Our findings suggest that simply owning a pet is not associated with better health or well‑being." The researchers cautioned that the cross‑sectional design cannot establish causality and called for future work on the quality of human‑animal relationships.