Pets

There is a growing world in the world that considers pets as part of the family. In fact, millions of people around the world love their pets, enjoy their companionship, go for walks, play and talk to them. And there is evidence to suggest that attachment to pets is good for human health and can also help build community.

More and more often, animals are included in family events and become important to all family members. This can be particularly significant in single parent families, where a pet can be a valuable companion to children. Children with pets may have higher levels of empathy and self-esteem compared to those without pets. Thinking of pets as family members can actually make the household chores associated with pet care heavier than they are for pet owners as Property Spending more time caring for a pet increases attachment to the animal which in turn reduces stress on the owners.

In researching my colleagues and I have been able to accumulate and participate in society, we have found a large study showing that interactions involving pets, especially if we value them, are may have an impact on health care. Zooeyia (pronounced zoo-AY-uh) is the idea that pets, also known as companion animals, can be good for human health. In fact, pet owners in Germany and Australia are found to visit their doctor 15 times half a year more often than pet owners.

Healthy, emotional connection

Many health benefits to humans occur when there is emotional attachment to pets. And we will probably take care of the animals that live with us. For example, one study looked at attachment to dogs that tended people caring for dogs in their home more than those living in the yard. Higher levels of attachment to dogs are associated with a greater likelihood of walking the dog and spending more time on walks compared to those with a tighter bond with their dogs.

Sharing your life with a pet is associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease, reduced stress levels and increased physical activity (especially dog ​​walking). Having a pet during stressful activities is shown to lower the blood pressure of couples engaged in a stressful activity. In fact, levels of beta-endorphin, oxytocin and dopamine, among other markers, increased in both humans and their dogs during interactions, indicating that the time spent together was beneficial. physiologically beneficial for both species. And pet ownership is associated with an enhanced survival of cardiovascular disease in the elderly (ages 65 to 84 years) treated for hypertension.

When Pets Are Family, Benefits Are Expanded in Society Research shows that children growing up in a pet develop higher levels of empathy and lower levels of stress. Shutterstock

Pets as family and community members

Because pets are considered family members of many people, the loss of a dog or cat is often the cause of deep sorrow. A lost or dead pet is difficult for many to replace because the human-pet relationship is specific to those individuals. The attachment between humans and animals is often so strong that it usually rages in a way that is very similar to the feelings and behaviors associated with the loss of a member of the human family.

The bond between humans and animals is not only good for human health, it can also help build community. People with pets often see that The activities with their companion animal create connections with other people. Social networks built on shared concern about animal welfare can lead to increased human interaction, as well as activities involving pets (e.g. walking a dog gets people out of private spaces, which can be isolated, and in public places where interactions with neighbors and other players are possible.

Protecting pets

Societies have created laws and institutions to protect fellow animals from cruelty and neglect. In most jurisdictions, the regulation of shelters and pounds has not changed to reflect the expensive status of many pets, and instead consider pets as property. If a missing pet does not reunite with an owner within a few days it may be sold to a new family, in the research lab, or even euthanized. However, some countries, such as India, Italy and Taiwan have legislated against genocide at the mercy of healthy animals in the shelter.

But pioneering in North America is still common. In 2017, Humane Canada found that among the shelters they examined, more than 70 percent of missing dogs and cats were not recovered, and thousands of dogs and cats were released. In 2016, 4,308,921 animals experimented in Canadian laboratories. An estimated 17,000 pets and dogs were provided by shelters in research laboratories and then bred.

The strength of the human-animal bond resulted in the creation of non-profit animal rescues whose mission was to ‘pull’ lost and abandoned animals from shelters before they could be exchanged or sold for research. For example, Marley's Hope is an export organization of all races in Nova Scotia. The organization also partners with Sipekne'katik First Nation to help rehome roaming dogs as well as spay and neuter where possible. the Underdog Railroad in Toronto, Ontario, rescues dogs and cats from high-kill shelters as well as those offered "free in a nice home" online. And Elderdog provides seniors with assistance to care for their pets as well as rescuing abandoned elderly dogs.

Humane Society International - Canada assists in spay-neuter programs and advocates for and rescue animals, including the international dog and cat industry. They closed three ghost meat farms in South Korea and two slaughterhouses in 2018, rescuing about 512 dogs, many of them found in homes in Canada and the USA.

Mohandas Ghandi understood the importance of the bond of the human animal. In his autobiography he says "human superiority in lower animals does not mean that the former must win the latter, but the higher must protect the less, and must have mutual aid in between the two. "Recognizing the ways that companion animals enrich human life, and understanding the depth of love between many humans and animals, can be key to not only better health, but to improve the welfare of society as a whole.

Pets are good stress reliever. Keep them safe and make a healthy for them.

Love them to the fullest and they will never leave you. That's how pure their love is.