Various studies have shown that having a pet can increase self-esteem, physical fitness, and social connectedness while decreasing loneliness and stress. This lesson uses this fact as a jumping off point to engage students in thinking about ways we might use to manage stress, the different impacts these strategies might have and how to make choices in using these tools to maximize our own well-being. As a facilitator of dialogue, you are not an observer but a participant in the conversation. So you should feel free to add in thoughts that may not be voiced by the students (but do so in a way that is conversational rather than authoritative). At the end of the day, we want students to recognize that some tools (like exercise and breathing) are more universal, both in terms of number of people for whom they are effective and the range of situations in which they help. But no tool is a magic bullet, and all tools must be used wisely.