Government Program Pays You To Get A Dog

England's National Health Service may balk at paying for expensive new drugs for the chronically ill but there is money for some of these patients to purchase a dog via a prescription.

No kidding - it's "pets not pills" in this novel approach that started near London late this summer with a worthy goal of keeping people healthier and best utilizing limited health care dollars.

At least one health authority has adopted a scheme that allows the long-term sick to buy a dog, in the hope that it will keep them out of the hospital, and save money.

With the growing knowledge that pets don't just make us feel good but are good for us, the premise of these English "pet prescriptions" is that a dog provides an incentive for people to exercise and be social, deters depression while increasing the feeling of general well-being, decreases doctor visits, shortens hospital stays, and greatly reduces prescription drug usage.

Under the plan, general practitioners in Lewisham, southeast of London, will give patients who are regularly hospitalized grants of up to 1,000 pounds (about $1,750 USD at current exchange rates) to spend on buying a pet, pet food and veterinary bills.