The Value Of Pets

My animals have always been a key factor to my mental and emotional health. Dogs have especially played a major role in my life. I can’t imagine my life with no animals in it. There was a time when I thought I was done owning pets, following the death of my last dog after seventeen years together. I have been fortunate to have many special pets come into my life. Some of those pets were with me during some challenging times in my life and if it wasn’t for some of those animals, I’m not sure I would still be here.

The first pet I remember vividly is our German shepherd/collie mix named Benjamin. He joined our family as a puppy and was an amazing guardian. When we would come home after dark, my mom would send Benjamin into the house before us to check everything out. If he came back without alerting us to anything, we knew the house was safe. I always felt safe knowing he was watching out for me and my family. Losing him was hard because I was still young, and I didn’t realize he was declining. He had a heart attack one day in the backyard. I remember feeling so powerless not being able to do anything to help him and guilty because after all his years of faithful service to us, he had to die out there all alone. Benjamin had been with my family through a very traumatic time, moving from my childhood home, unexpectedly, to live with my grandmother while my parents went through a very tumultuous divorce. He, along with a miniature poodle, named Lucy, and an orange tabby cat, named Thomas were responsible for keeping me sane during this period of my life.

While Benjamin was important to make me feel safe, Lucy played a role of her own as a calming presence and priceless companion. She was the pet who stayed in the house with me and was there when no one else was at home. She kept me from having to be alone. Her sweet temperament was so calming and soothing. She would sit with me for hours and never move. At night, she slept in the bed with me.

Protection and companionship are two roles pets play in our lives, often more effectively than our fellow humans. They accept us just as we are and don’t seek to judge or change us. While all pets are special in some way, others just rise above the rest in their ability to enrich our lives in the most ordinary ways. For many elderly and disabled people, having a pet is an invaluable source of companionship and emotional support. Dogs and cats are both popular as pets, but other, less conventional pets can range from rabbits and ferrets to lizards, snakes, and tortoises. There is usually a defined line between the people who own furry, four-legged pets and those preferring the scaly variety, but some crossover does happen.

In undeveloped parts of the world, dogs are still relied upon for their protection and alert capabilities. Farmers and herdsmen depend on them to guard their flocks and properties, keeping out dangerous animals and poachers. Herdsmen in the mountains use livestock guardian dogs to protect the flocks from predators and herding dogs to move their flocks. Even in the modern world, dogs are still preferred by some homeowners as a means of protection and home security against intruders. Dogs are still relied on by law enforcement for the detection of drugs and other illegal substances, contraband and suspect apprehension, and the location of missing people.

Owning pets has been shown to have benefits to more than the emotional and mental well-being of people. It can lower some health statistics, including blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, and cortisol. Pets can have a positive effect on children with autism and ADHD. Often, the benefit which comes with a dog is increased activity. We are more motivated to be active and engaged if there is another creature who is depending on us for their very lives. We can become very dependent upon them in turn for our emotional and mental well-being. There is no doubt animals enhance our lives in numerous ways, some of which have not been explained by science.