Are we happier with a pet in our life?

Over the next month David Cameron and his helpers will travel around the UK to find out how happy we are as a nation .The Prime Minister’s Big Idea is the National Happiness Index which will gauge the nation’s fluctuating mood year by year.

However, a new study released today by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) may have already done the work for him, with the research showing happiness is a warm furry animal (or a cold scaly snake if that’s what you are into).

The survey of over 2000 adults got respondents to rank their happiness levels and found that pet owners rate themselves as being happier than those without a pet.

From April, the Office for National Statistics will officially ask people to rate their happiness with the first national happiness index due in 2012.But before that it wants the public to give their views on how happiness can actually be measured and consultation events are taking place around the nation over the next month.

According to the survey released today by PFMA, pet owners will be at the front of the queue when it comes to giving their views on how to measure happiness – for them it’s all about the love they receive from their furry friends.

Nearly 60% of people with pets say their pet makes them a happier person, while a similar number say being with their cuddly companion makes them feel more relaxed. Almost a third even say their pet makes them a healthier person.

Whether or not they own a pet - 81% of people agree that “Pets are the antidote to a bad mood” so it’s not surprising that when pet owners do need a lift in their mood they’ll turn to their pet above all else, including their partner and chocolate. Non pet-owners use music to lift the doom and gloom, while chocolate rates equally with their partner as a mood enhancer.

In our podcast ex-Blue Peter presenter and animal lover Peter Duncan speaks about why pets can add so much happiness to people’s lives.