Elixir

While the benefits of an animal companion to those aging or chronically ill are well known, the help of our four-legged friends may actually be ageless. According to a survey conducted at Ohio State University, college students also find comfort in their pets during difficult times.
The survey of students at a Midwest commuter campus and other adults in the area found that young people attribute comfort in stressful situations and a hedge against loneliness to owning a cat or a dog.

“We might not think of college students as being lonely, but a lot of freshman and sophomores are in an early transition from living at home to living in dorms or off-campus,” says Sara Staats, lead author of the study and professor emeritus of psychology at Ohio State’s Newark Campus. “Many feel their pets will help get them through these difficult and stressful situations. And many more say that without their pet, they would feel lonely.”

The study, based on survey responses from nearly 350 college students, showed that avoiding loneliness was the top reason given for owning a pet, but that pets also helped students stay active and improve their overall health in a number of ways.

“Many students said that their pets fulfill a significant role that is missing in their lives,” Staat says. “The pets are not a substitute for human social interaction and support, but do provide important interaction for these kids who might otherwise feel isolated from their current environment.”

Apparently so, according to a report on Forbes.com. It may come as a shock to those of us who love life here — we could go on forever with the superlatives — but this paragraph does at least make you see how they got to their reasoning.

Lousy weather, long commutes, rising unemployment and the highest sales tax rate in the country are to blame for the Windy City being near the top of our list. High rates of corruption by public officials didn’t help either.

Point taken, and yes, the winter’s are rough, but Chicago is still the greatest city to live in, as we all know. To come to its conclusion, the Forbes study looked at the nation’s 150 largest metro areas (population at least 378,000) and ranked them in the following categories: commute times, corruption, pro sports teams, Superfund sites, taxes (both income and sales), unemployment, violent crime and weather.