The health benefits of owning a pet
The health benefits to humans of pet ownership are numerous. This is what makes your job as a pet sitter so rewarding. The relationship between people and animals has changed in the last 50 years. Animals who live with people have traditionally been called 'pets' and are now referred to as 'companion animals'. This name change shows that there is a mutual relationship between humans and animals which has been described as the 'human-animal bond'. This amazing bond seems to be deepening.
wMany owners that we see consider their pets to be family members. I know we do as a family.
wThere are many other benefits of pet-ownership other than the obvious companionship. Pets help maintain the health and well-being of their owners. I speak from a personal level here when I say that it is due to our new pet Labrador Slick that a whole new world has been opened up to me. Since she has been old enough to go out, I have started jogging. I am not a naturally athletic person and require a good reason to go out on a cold, rainy morning and Slick is my reason. She needs the exercise and I just love going out with her every morning now. I have never felt fitter and better for doing it.
wSo many people will actually acquire a pet for this reason - to get them out and about and leading a healthier lifestyle. Doctors apparently treat more depression in humans now than any other disease in the UK and I believe that the natural health benefits of pets play a huge role in helping treat their owners.
wPets act as social lubricants (a lovely term I remember first learning at university) or ice-breakers, particularly with the disabled, ill or socially unaccepted people. I remember a young client coming in with her mother years ago. She had large worried eyes as she carefully placed her guinea-pig on the table. It had mites and was simple to treat, but the mother said that her daughter suffered from agoraphobia (a fear of open public spaces) and this was the first time that she had left home as she was so concerned about her itchy pet.
wPets stabilise the lives of their owners with their constant presence and routine - a wonderful stability in the lives of older people for example who have to feed their little pet at certain times and keep a daily exercise routine. They offer unconditional love in return.
wPets are often credited with pulling their owners through 'rough spots' in their lives by providing undemanding emotional support simply by just being there. I remember failing an exam at vet school and arriving home and just crying inconsolably on my bed. Our Bearded Collie climbed up and lay next to me - something she has never done before and something I shall never forget - it made me cry even more.
wThe reasons why pets make such good companions are complex and go right back to the domestication of animals thousands of years ago. Pets often appear to communicate directly with their owners. Cats do not normally 'meow' in the wild for example, but their domestic noises seem to be a mimicking of our own lip movements to produce their vast 'vocabulary'. Domestic rabbits that are soft and appealing elicit deep nurturing responses from their owners.
wUnfortunately pet ownership does not always guarantee a beneficial outcome. Animals with behavioural problems can have a detrimental effect on the life of their owner as we see on recent TV programmes.
w Sometimes owning a pet may put some people at risk of forming fewer human social contacts.
wOccasionally pet ownership has negative consequences for the animal. We see it in surgeries all over the UK where people amass more animals than they can properly care for and the RSPCA has to be called in. I find these cases particularly heart-breaking as a law exists that states that the animals cannot be rehomed until the case of animal cruelty is settled in court. These cases can take months to resolve.
w Luckily the huge majority of pet owners are to be admired for their devotion to their pets and the pets are to be admired for the joy they bring their owners.
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