The potential positive effects of pets on cardiac disease (as described above) and cancer alone could be extremely significant, but in addition, animals are reported to have positive effects on a wide spectrum of health and social issues including wound healing and immune health through the effects of the neurotransmitter oxytocin [ 49 , 54 , 55 , 56 ], pediatric respiratory diseases [ 57 ], child development [ 58 ], elder care [ 59 , 60 , 61 ] and pain reduction or distraction [ 39 ].
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