I wholeheartedly agree! My boy (dog) has been a lifesaver for me-I adopted him after losing my special beagle - this guy has been through the mill with me and one of our members at Al-Anon jokingly told me that after what he has been through as well, he needed "Al-a-Mutt."
Seriously-pets give you a purpose-feeding, playing with, loving, caring for, walking-I walk mine daily, meet people in the neighbourhood, things like that.
They love you unconditionally, are there for you when things are good and not so good and there's nothing like coming home after a hard day and seeing a tail wagging or hearing meowing or chirping just for you.
Dog, cat, bird, hamster, rabbit.....whatever, pets make life a whole lot nicer. Shelter pets even more so, as they are lost souls like us and need a forever home and loving people.