positive effect people can get from hanging out with dogs?

Question
Hello, my name is Seong Cheon, and I am a reporter for magazine called Jayplay. I have been writing an article on "positive influence people can get by training and hanging out with dogs." and after searching the web for few hours, I found that you could be the perfect expert source to tell me about this issue. Could you please explain few positive influence people can get by hanging out with dogs? I am desperate to find out about this so that I could improve credibility of my article.
I will include your name and your status as an expert in my article. Thank you very much! and please reply me as soon as possible!

Sincerely,
Seong Cheon
Reporter for Jayplay at the University of Kansas.
www.kansan.com/jayplay


Answer
The therapeutic effects that dogs can have on people have been documented for decades. The simple act of petting a dog has been shown to lower blood pressure and stimulate the brain to release the 'feel good hormones' called Endorphins. Thousands of dogs are certified each year as Therapy Dogs, which gives them permission to go into hospitals, schools, and nursing homes to interact with the patients or residents of those facilities. These special dogs brighten the day of almost every person they meet.

In addition to being a welcomed visitor (sometimes the Therapy Dog and its handler are the only visitors that nursing home residents get), Therapy Dogs can encourage physical movement, speech, and brain activity in people who are normally not active, don't speak, etc.

I would like to share some web links with you, that I think will be helpful:

http://www.therapydogs.org/benefits4.html
http://www.pedigree.com/dogsandpuppies/adult+dogs/relationship/dogs+and+your+hea...
http://www.deltasociety.org/AnimalsHealthGeneralGeneral.htm

You can find more information by doing a search on http://www.yahoo.com for "benefits of therapy dogs."

Kristen