Health Magazine confirms what dog owners already know–that owning a dog is good for your health. In addition to the companionship, unconditional love and the joys they bring to our lives, studies show that dog ownership is bound to lower your cholesterol, blood pressure and increase your life expectancy.

“The breadth and depth of what dogs do to benefit humans’ happiness and longevity is pretty remarkable,” says judge Marty Becker, DVM, author of The Healing Power of Pets.

Part of this could be attributed to the fact that dogs make get up off our butts and play, move around and exercise, but I think dogs also reduce our stress and anxiety levels; they show us how to just be happy with what we’ve got.

Add to that the role dogs play as service companions and the ways that they are contributing to medicine—from detecting cancer, providing hope for autistic children, and comforting psychiatric patients—and there’s really no argument that owning a dog has a positive impact on your health and your quality of life.

My favorite part from the article?

What kind of dog is best? Dr. Becker especially sings the praises of small, mixed-breed shelter pups.

Um, hello? That’s Maisey to a T! Not that I needed a doctor to tell me that she’s the perfect dog, but the small shelter mutt shout-out sure is amiable.

Maisey helped me through a difficult transition in my life. What exactly her presence did for me is indescribable, but I’ll never doubt the power and beauty of having a dog in my life.

We’ve had a rough week. On Monday evening, I came home to a sick Maisey who wouldn’t stop throwing up. After I realized she was trying, but couldn’t go #2, I got scared something more serious might be going on. So 10:30 at night we rushed to the emergency room.

I cried as I rushed into the emergency room, I’d convinced myself something was seriously wrong. After I told the technician her symptoms, their reaction did little to calm my fears. She was rushed into the back and I was left standing there, worried sick.

After $400 of care, it turns out everything is OK. The technician was even surprised she was going to be going home that same night. I left the emergency room armed with antibiotics, anti nausua medication and instructions for a strict 3-5 day diet.

I have no idea why this pup has such a sensitive stomach. Perhaps during her homeless stint on the streets she was eating things not ideal for a sensitive chihuahua tummy. Perhaps her previous owner didn’t feed her well, I don’t know.

I do know that our frightening Monday night reminded me just how much she brings to my life, sensitive tummy or not. I can’t imagine my life without her.

So I’ve spent the rest of this week keeping her comfortable, hiding pills in cheese, watching her detect the undesirable taste and managing to spit it out and still get all the cheese, and mixing up a tummy coating medication and injecting it into her mouth (much to her distaste).

But I’m her mom, so this is my job. It may seem thankless, but that’s what being a mom is all about, right?

Last weekend Maisey and I got outside for a good cause and participated in the Oregon Humane Society’s 2009 Doggie Dash.

The annual fundraiser raised over $220,000 for the non-profit organziation and we had a blast.

Would you be willing to pay a membership fee to use city dog parks that you currently can visit for free?

With state budget cuts trickling down to the cities within them, taken for granted luxuries such as school music and sports programs, city or state funded parks, and public transportation are being cut back or eliminated.  Seems that now, dog parks aren’t even free anymore. 

This makes me wonder, where exactly are my tax dollars going these days? Bailing out big banks, auto companies and CEO bonuses? While a possible dog park fee is by no means the biggest detriment caused by drastic state budget cuts, it’s ridiculous to think tax paying citizens are being asked to fork out more money just to go to the dog park! I would gladly pay a dog park fee if a fee was set up to support local dog shelters or help animals in need. But a mandatory dog park fee that is a direct result of government and big business financial irresponsibility is just too hard to swallow.

I understand we are in difficult times, and proposals such as the one in Novato, California are likely to pass. Can we at least make some good of it? Can dog park registrants be forced to provide proof that their dogs are up to date on vaccinations? Can a portion of the fees be used to support animal population control?

I would assume most dog owners wouldn’t deprive their pets of the joys of the dog park despite the fees, but the bone would be a lot easier to swallow if we know the program will do some good for the local pet community.