pets for emotional support

People buy pets for many reasons, but one reason in particular has caught my eye. this is emotional support. Pets have comforted people for years.

Edwin Gelhert was on his death bed in a hospital when Tom, a tabby cat, came to him and comforted him during his last couple minutes alive. Tom allowed Edwin to pass away peacefully just by his presents. This is just one example of pets helping people with emotional support.

Pets, especially cats and dogs, bring a warm/lighthearted feel to no only their owner but to others as well. According to (www.webmd.com) pets can relieve stress and even lower the rate of heart disease by lowering blood pressure and cholesterol. 

http://abcnews.go.com/US/tom-cat-brings-comfort-dying-patients-calming-presence/story?id=26485583

Response to Ebola Outbreak

Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person to be infected with Ebola in the United States, died on the 8th of October after receiving 11 days of treatment. Two nurses came in contact with the infected patient, Amber Vinson and Nina Pham. Vinson Pham was diagnosed with Ebola the morning of October 15th. Before then, on the 10th MS. Vinson flew on a commercial plane even though she was supposed to be monitored. Who knows how many people Ms. Vinson came in contact with, how many people she could have infected.

The government needs to be more careful with this virus. Mr. Duncan came in contact with at least 70 workers at the hospital (BBC news). When an incredibly deadly virus is being treated in a hospital the workers should all have proper equipment, this means goggles, masks, full body suits, and gloves. We should do out best to contain the virus, but instead, due to the carelessness of some, we are spreading it. This disease is responsible for over 4,000 deaths in west Africa (BBC News). we can't let a virus like that damage our population that much. So what are we going to do?

In my opinion, since the virus is already in the US there is no use to do something irrational, and out of panic, like close of the borders from west Africa to the US. Instead we should put more effort into containing the virus, we need to have hospital staff in fully protective gear. We should also put more funding into the CDC and for scientific research, so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again.

According to BBC news here are a few ways to not catch Ebola

Avoid direct contact with sick patients as the virus is spread through contaminated body fluids

• Wear goggles to protect eyes
• Clothing and clinical waste should be incinerated and any medical equipment that needs to be kept should be decontaminated
• People who recover from Ebola should abstain from sex or use condoms for three months

There is no need to panic over something like this, but people should be aware that this is still a problem. The government needs to be more careful with this delicate situation. There needs to be more training done in hospitals and more money going into research for development of a cure.