If you’re thinking of adding a furry friend to your home this holiday season, you might want to adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue. Pet adoption saves a life and may even extend yours.

Most pet owners will tell you about the immediate joy a pet brings to their lives, but did you know that if you adopt a pet, it can have measurable health benefits, too?

Having a furry friend can ease loneliness, reduce stress, promote social interaction, encourage exercise and playfulness, and provide unconditional love and affection.

Caring for a pet may even help you live longer. The American Heart Association has concluded that having a pet can reduce blood pressure and even reduce the risk of heart disease.

There are more than 30 million puppies and kittens born in the United States every year. As many as 12 million of these animals end up in shelters for one reason or another. Others are abandoned in rural and urban areas.

But, research suggests that pet owners are happier and live longer than non-pet owners. That, in my mind, is a great reason to give a fluffy, love-sponge a good home.

Here are a few resources to help you find your forever friend.

The Humane Society Of The United States

Adopt-a-pet

Blue Buffalo Home 4 The Holidays Program

Petfinder.com