Pet Is More Than a Companion

Animals have been humans’ companions for hundreds of years. Many studies have been done that observe the relationship between pets and their owners. These studies look at both the physical and mental effects pets have on their owners. Studies have been done that focus on the effectiveness of animal therapy for humans. There are many different types of animals that could be used for animal therapy. Some think people should not have pets because they could spread diseases. However, pets can improve human’s mental and physical health in many ways through companionship and even therapy.

Animals have been used in many different therapy techniques. This is an alternative to traditional therapeutic interventions. Animal-assisted therapy is often used for children with trauma-related emotional and behavioral issues because it helps reduce fear and anxiety that may come from traditional therapy. If an animal is to be used for pet therapy, it must be a certified therapy animal. Animal therapy is used to encourage the individual to touch, play, and talk with these animals which provides social support for the individual. There are also many places where this type of therapy takes place such as hospitals, nursing homes, and universities. There has been a variety of animals used in pet therapy. They have used small animals such as dogs, large animals such as horses, and even wild animals such as dolphins have been used for this therapy technique. When most people think of animal therapy, they normally think of therapy dogs. Research has been done to determine if pet therapy is effective and what does its effect. Recently, a new technique that is being used to treat trauma in youth is equine-assisted therapy. This new therapy focuses on the bond between the children and the horses. Recent studies show a significant decrease in post-traumatic stress symptoms in children who completed a ten-week equine-facilitated therapy (Muller, 1164). These results show that equine-assisted therapy can be an effective treatment for children with signs of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. Studies have been done to determine if pet therapy is effective and what does its effect. Most results, when animal therapy is used, are that the patients’ blood pressure, anxiety, and stress was lowered (Ein, 483).

Dogs and other animals can also be trained to do more than just be therapy animals. Some dogs can even be trained to detect serious health issues such as seizures. Pets also have many other smaller roles as well that can help human’s physical health every day. Some studies have found that pet owners have healthier hearts, make fewer doctor visits, and get more exercise than those who do not own a pet (Casciotti, 1). Pets can also have an impact on allergies, asthma, and social interactions. There are studies that found that dogs encourage their owners to go for walks making their owners more active than non-pet owners (Brooks, 2). The journal of social issues has an article on how pets affect human’s well-being through physical interaction and just the presence of an animal. In this article, Wells, the author, found that physical interaction such as petting or stroking an animal’s fur repeatedly showed to decrease blood pressure and heart rate. “Pet owners, for instance, have been discovered to visit the doctor significantly less than individuals who do not own a companion animal” (Wells, 526). Pet owners have also been known to have a lesser chance of developing a chronic condition. Physical interaction also can have positive health outcomes for the animal as well as the human. This can help in lowering the animal’s heart rate. A study was conducted between people who owned a cat or dog and people who did not. When the participants were undergoing a stressful task the pet owners had lower resting heart rates and blood pressure measurements than non-pet owners at the beginning of the experiment. Pet owners were also found to have fewer spikes in heart rates and blood pressure while performing the stressful task. These results indicate that owning a pet can lower the chances of heart disease and lowers stress levels. (Casciotti, 1). Elderly people can also greatly benefit from owning a pet. Research has shown that elderly people who own a pet are more likely to do better during certain physical activities such as climbing stairs, bending knees, and dressing oneself. Some of these health benefits may not be seen as important to some people, being able to function efficiently at an elderly age important to some because it means they can stay in their own homes longer. Being able to lower the chances of heart disease is important for someone who has heart problems. In many of the studies conducted the results have been consistent. Each of the studies had the result of lower blood pressure and heart rate in pet owners. Each of these studies was done differently using animals but still produced the same results.

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People who have mental health problems have risen over the past couple of years. So, a study was conducted on the role pets play in helping people with mental health issues. The pets that were used in this study were not certified or trained therapy animals. These animals are ordinary pets and this study was done to see if untrained therapy animals could also help people with mental health issues. “Pets were able to provide unique emotional support as a result of their ability to respond to their owners in an intuitive way, especially in times of crisis and periods of active symptoms” (Brooks, 5). This study revealed that when dogs provided companionship and physical contact with their owners then would open up about their feelings and communicate with their dogs about how they feel. People do this because they feel safe with their pets and find it easier to confide in their pets than open up to another person. This way the owners don’t feel judged by their pets and don’t feel like a burden. Pets provide unconditional love and affection for their owners so no matter what their owners confide in their pets the pet’s feelings will not change about their owners. Sometimes when confiding in a person that person may become judgmental or change how they view the person struggling with mental health. Still to this day mental health still has a stigma around it. Even though more and more cases are being reported as I said earlier there still are many more people that are afraid to receive treatment. For these people owning a pet and confiding in them could be a way to start opening up about their mental health. The journal of social issues found that interaction between a person and a familiar animal had more therapeutic benefits than interacting with an unfamiliar animal. Physical interaction is not the only way people’s health can benefit from. People can also benefit from just the presence of animal’s wells found. Animals help in this way by lowering autonomic responses to conditions of moderate stress (Wells, 525). Walking a dog can also lead to the increasing social interactions of pet owners. This is because when on walks, for example, pet owners may run into other pet owners walking their dogs and conversation could easily spark about the dog’s breeds or names. Pets even seemed to increase social interactions between friends and family members of the pet owner. The reason they found this observation is that pet owners are more open to interactions when their pets are around because their pets provide comfort and give them confidence (Brooks, 7). So, someone who feels uncomfortable in social settings owning a pet may allow them to open up and become more comfortable with others and give them more social interactions.

Some people argue that people should not have pets because pets can transmit illnesses to their owners. There are certain illnesses that pet owners can get from their pets. Many of these illnesses are not very serious illnesses. One illness that pets can transmit is Campylobacteriosis. This illness is commonly referred to as diarrhea. Some symptoms of diarrhea are cramping, abdominal pain, and high fever. “While most cases are caused by exposure to contaminated food, it can also be contracted through exposure to the stool of an infected animal” (Whiteman, 2). A simple way to avoid contracting Campylobacteriosis is to dispose of feces and wash hands after handling feces this can minimize the chances of contracting this illness tremendously. Humans can also contract tapeworms from pets. “Dipylidium caninum is the most common tapeworm in both dogs and cats in the US. It is caused by the ingestion of fleas that carry the tapeworm larvae” (Whiteman, 3). It can be passed to pet owners, but the chance of infection is very low. A simple way to combat this is to treat pets for fleas. There are countless products that are sold in stores that pet owners can use to keep fleas off of pets. Humans can also contract rabies from cats and dogs. Rabies is a disease that infects the central nervous system and is caused by a bite from an infected animal. A way to avoid the risk of a pet contracting rabies is to make sure the animal has its rabies shot.

Dogs, cats, and horses are normally just considered companions to humans, but they truly do so much more for humans. They provide pet therapy as an alternative for when traditional therapy is not working for someone. They also can help improve mental health in their owners even if the pets are not trained therapy animals. Pets provide a safe place for their humans to confide in when they are scared of opening up. Animals can also affect humans physically. They can lower blood pressure and heart rate in their owners and even people they do not know. Pets can do this without physical contact with a human but with just being in their presence they continually have an impact. They can spread illnesses, but there are simple precautions owners can take to minimize these risks. Having a pet can have many health benefits for the owner, but also for others and the pets as well. Pets can improve mental and physical health threw companionship and therapy.