Pets Are Good for the Soul

Pets are one of those things that a family can be divided on. The kids want a puppy and mom is okay with it, but dad absolutely refuses. End of discussion. Other families have always had a dog or cat in the house, a sort of family tradition. My own aunt and her family was the type. She’s gone through several generations of loyal companions. Some had short lives and others had longer ones, but all were provided with a warm and loving home. I’d wager that not a single week went by without a pet in their household.

While not everyone might be a dog person or cat person, most people will have some sort of domestic animal they adore to death. Some odd animals usually not seen as pets often are as well. This includes the beasts like snakes, spiders, and even cows. I would have never thought someone would, but apparently pet cows are very common in the countryside. Not livestock cows for milk or meat, mind you, but actual pets they’ll bring inside. I could never imagine something like that. A cow just seems to big to be anything but an outdoor animal.

While pets are a big responsibility on the owner, the benefits are often worth the effort. Plus, doing certain things for your pet may make you take care of yourself more often. While I was over at a friend’s house I got to ask about her cat and how it’s changed her routine. “Before I got Ashy, I would almost never wake up on time and I’d never eat breakfast. Now I’m used to being up in the morning and I always have time to eat. The little guy would jump on me and meow to wake me up when he was hungry, so I’ve adjusted to waking up early now.” Sounds to me like she got a good deal. Not only did she have a fluffy cat to get her used to waking up earlier, but now she has a friend there when she gets home every day. I know plenty of dog owners that would say that’s the best part of having a pet.

The feeling of having someone welcome you home adds to the atmosphere of the house, making it more comfortable and relaxing. When it comes to dogs specifically, one benefit they can offer is an increase of exercise in your life. Larger breeds need to go for plenty of walks. Even in the case of the odd pets, spiders have something to offer. Well, maybe not pet spiders specifically, but any that are in your house do their job of eating other annoying insects. So long as they’re not trying to bite me, I’m fine with them staying in my house while they do that. That’s close enough to being a pet. Right?

Either way, pets can do a lot more to help their owners. Pets are able to benefit their owner’s health through more than just exercise. By petting them you can reduce not only your stress, but your blood pressure. Pets have also been able to help with numerous mental health concerns in their owners. They can help us feel less alone, ease the symptoms of conditions like depression or PTSD, and can even act as aides to make up for disabilities.

Pets are a big responsibility, yes, but the positive benefits far outweigh any costs in taking care of it. It can help you take better care of yourself. If you’re taking the steps to take care of your pet, you’ll be able to take extra ones for yourself. Pets also help us stay sane by being there when we need something fluffy to pet. Who doesn’t like a soft cuddly animal? I always feel good when petting a cat that happened to walk by. As one final thought over the benefits of pets, you could say it’s practice for having kids. I think we could all agree that if someone can’t take care of a dog they might not be able to take care of a person.