Whether or not it's scientific, most pet owners would say their quality of life is better for the presence of their pet. In fact, I suspect most pet owners would laugh at the idea that there's even any question.
So in April of this year, when 48-year-old Tracy Clark was arrested and charged with felony animal cruelty after he attacked Scatt, the resident cat at the church substance-abuse shelter where Clark was staying, there was a good deal of outrage both on the part of other shelter residents and on the part of Seattle-area pet lovers in general. When the story hit the internet, there was an email and letter campaign, as well, encouraging county officials to prosecute vigorously.
At his May 6th arraignment, Clark initially pleaded not-guilty to the felony charge, and reportedly faced a deadly-weapon enhancement to the charge that would add an automatic six months to his sentence.
Clark pleaded guilty to first-degree animal cruelty, in June, in King County Superior Court. He apparently related how he flung Scatt (the shelter cat) against a wall, and slashed him with a knife. According to a Seattle PI article online, Clark was recently sentenced to nine months on work release.
Scatt showed up at The Cross Church shelter almost ten years ago as a stray. He's been a valued companion animal pretty much ever since, according to staff of the church rehab program.
Just in case you hadn't heard, by the way, Scatt survived the attack after emergency treatment at a local veterinarian. Scatt's expenses were covered by Pasado's Safe Haven, an animal-protection organization based in Sultan, WA. He's back, living at The Cross Church rehab shelter with the staff and residents who love him, and for whom he does so very much good in return.
I've seen more and more discussion on the web regarding the value of cats as therapeutic companion animals, recently. It's not at all uncommon for a cat to be the much-loved resident of many churches, schools, shelters, and nursing homes.
Now, admittedly, there's not really any hard science to back up the value of a feline companion, in terms of quantifiable health benefits. There are studies that suggest that pet owners tend to be happier people than non-pet-owners, but it doesn't automatically follow that the relationship between pets and happier people is necessarily causal.
An article in Scientific American, last year, asserts that studies do seem to suggest that people with access to pets typically demonstrate less stress, when monitored, than do people without pets:
"Studies by psychologists Karen Allen of the University at Buffalo and James Blascovich of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and their colleagues demonstrate that the presence of a favorite pet during a stressful task—such as performing difficult mental arithmetic—largely prevents spikes in participants' blood pressure. In contrast, the presence of a friend does not. In addition, Allen's work shows that stressed-out, hypertensive stockbrokers who were randomly assigned to adopt either a pet dog or cat ended up with lower blood pressure than those who were not. These studies suggest that the presence of pets may lower our blood pressure and stress levels, although they do not tell us the reasons for this effect. They also do not inform us whether we would observe similar effects with other preferred stimuli, such as a good luck charm or a favorite doll."
Tracy Clark has expressed his regret and shame for the attack, and is ordered to spend the next nine months in addiction treatment during the day, and in jail at night. Clark has also been ordered to stay away from Scatt.