Before starting middle school, I used to visit a family friend’s house quite often as she was my summer maths tutor. She had two beautiful cats that were polar opposites of each other. Guy, a 14-year-old tabby with a mackerel pattern (grey with black stripes) was probably the friendliest and most laid-back cat that I have ever interacted with. With his striking green eyes and subtle hints for affection, he always made sure that you fell in love with him. Meanwhile, Mindy, whose fur was as white and pristine as snow, was shy and evasive, always opting to be curious from a distance rather than meeting visitors up close.
These cats are everything to my former tutor and one look at her displayed not only care and fondness for them, but an incredibly strong bond. They provided her with an endless source of happiness after a long day and kept her company whenever her family was away. Pets were also among the ways that enabled her to learn about responsibility as a child. These are just some of the benefits that can be observed from having a pet. What other benefits could there be to pet ownership?
According to Elizabeth Scott in the Verywell Mind website article “How Owning a Pet Can Reduce Stress”, some benefits include improving one’s mood, reducing blood pressure and encouraging exercise. Moreover, the Everyday Health website article “6 Potential Benefits of Owning a pet” echoes some of these benefitss and adds the possibility of helping promote mental health and having the potential to boost “feel–good” through the act of petting one’s pet. The article also says that pets could act as “social icebreakers”, underlining that it can be particularly meaningful to introverts or those who find it difficult to talk to new people.
Pets can also be a great source of friendship, which an article from the UK animal welfare charity Blue Cross describes best: “Pets make us laugh, cheer us up when we’re feeling at our worse or are unwell and they are a non-judgemental shoulder to cry on. They never share our secrets, and bring us comfort when we need it the most. Pets can become our soulmates without uttering a single word”.
Another benefit of having a pet is that they can offer company, promising a companionship like no other and can be helpful in preventing loneliness. An example of this can be found in a 2002 study titled “The Effects of Animal-Assisted Therapy on Loneliness in an Elderly Population in Long-Term Care Facilities” found that animal-assisted therapy* (AAT) can be used to decrease loneliness among senior residents in those facilities, particularly among those who owned pets in the past.
There are numerous benefits that are said to be linked with owning a pet. From boosting moods to being icebreakers, pets can do a lot for their owners in ways that we might not have known. Aside from those mentioned, they offer owners unconditional love and years of laughter, making for great memories that can make one appreciate them even more.
*AAT is an “alternative or complementary type of therapy that includes the use of animals in a treatment”, with its goal being to improve a “patient’s social, emotional, or cognitive functioning”, according to Wikipedia.
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