Another investigation  on the effect of companion animals on the health of older people (Hendy, 1987) explored the effects of visits by pets and/or people.

It found that although individuals responded well to pets alone and to pets with people, interactions with people alone were associated with the greatest number of positive resident behaviors.

More recently, a similar study found in favor of one on one time between human and pet boosted mental health significantly, with participants feeling the could open up more when they had the dog on their own.

Despite their findings that pets alone cannot change some realities of nursing homes, studies of this type make important contributions to our understanding of the circumstances and environments in which pets can be beneficial.

Such results emphasize the importance of examining multiple social factors in designing nursing home environments, or residential environments for older people, and can contribute to improved research designs in future studies.

Continues in Companion Animals and Elderly People-the health benefits  Part 3