People and Pets

People and Pets
PET keeping is virtually ubiquitous among human groups. People have kept domesticated animals for at least 10,000 years, and have captured, tamed and kept wild animals as companions, without breeding them, for considerably longer. Although the initial impetus for domestication is unclear, the first breeding of animals, in the Mesolithic period, was probably associated with favourable environmental changes in specific areas which dramatically increased the availability of food. According to the archaeological records, dogs were the first and cats the second domesticated pets.

The importance of pet animals in modern industrial society is repeatedly demonstrated in the popular press, movies and books. Pets, and dogs in particular, are often characterized as man's "best friend". From a symbolic perspective, pets may well represent the lost relationship of the mother to the infant; that is complete and total devotion, love, and adoration. They can help bridge the developmental transitions from infancy to childhood; from dependence to independence; from isolation to social integration at varying times and stages in our lives. While the relationship between people and their pets may be a symbol for the relationship of a mother to an infant, the species difference constitutes a fundamental distinction, providing emotional continuity without negating our individuality.

Prior to the last decade there were few scientific studies of the benefits of interactions between people and pets. Freud recognized the unique and important role of pets in people's lives: "It really explains," he wrote, "why one can love an animal ... with such an extraordinary intensity; affection without ambivalence, the simplicity free from the almost unbearable conflicts of civilization, the beauty of an existence complete in itself ... that feeling of intimate affinity, of an undisputed solidarity." However, his warm regard for them was not expressed in a clinical interest. Most information about the value of pets to their people was based upon anecdotal information, compilations of personal stories of the amazing devotion, intelligence and restorative powers of individual pets or particular breeds, without the support of systematic scientific investigation.

In the last ten years the common belief that "pets are good for you" has gained scientific support. Pets decrease owners' loneliness and depression by providing companionship, an impetus for nurturance, and a source of meaningful daily activities. They also decrease owners' anxiety and stress levels by providing contact comfort, a relaxing focus for attention, and a feeling of safety. In addition, a pet can help its owner improve or maintain physical fitness by providing an impetus for exercise. While most researchers into the effects of animals on health have concentrated on dogs, there is considerable evidence that other pets are equally beneficial.

Loneliness may cause or worsen illnesses and can even lead to death, and the company of a pet can promote health by ameliorating the pathological effects of lack of contact with family members or close friends. Pets can be particularly beneficial to elderly people, who are especially vulnerable to loneliness and isolated from their families and friends. They act as companions to their owners, many of whom consider their pets to be family members, talk to them frequently as if they were people, and think their pets are sensitive to their moods.

In the course of a study of the social, psychological and physiological factors affecting the survival of patients with coronary heart disease (severe chest pain or heart attack), pet ownership was related to one year survival. Only three of fifty-three pet owners died within one year of admission to a large urban university hospital while eleven of thirty-nine non-pet owners covered by the study died in the same period. As expected, the best predictor of survival was the severity of the illness. The combination of pet ownership and physiological severity was better at predicting survival than was physiological severity alone. Furthermore, pets benefited everyone, not just those who were living alone, unmarried, or widowed. The researchers concluded that the effects of pets on health were distinct from the effects of other people.

Pets can also lead to increased companionship by facilitating interactions with other people. They provide hospitalized or institutionalized persons with important links to friends and relatives in the outside world. Many pet owners seek daily information about their pets during their own hospitalization.

Frequently people who live alone or lose reciprocity in their relationships with others become depressed, feel unneeded, and lose self esteem. These feelings lead to increases in the psychological and physiological responses to the challenges of daily life which in turn lead to diminution of the body's ability to fight infections and resist disease. By lessening these feelings, pets can decrease the impact of problems, disappointments, deaths of friends, and other stressful events.

Caring for a pet can also improve self image and facilitate caring for oneself. In one survey of senior citizens in the United States, pet owners felt significantly more self-sufficient, dependable, helpful, self-confident and optimistic than non-pet owners. A social worker in Edinburgh (UK) even used the incentive of caring for a pet to induce elderly clients to take better care of themselves. She gave several of her clients, who relied on open fires to warm themselves in winter, pet birds which required warm environments. None of those who were given pet birds and instructed to maintain higher house temperatures for their pets experienced hypothermia that winter. Since hypothermia is a major cause of death for the elderly in Edinburgh, the pets undoubtedly contributed to their owner's health.

There is growing recognition of the important positive role of the sense of touch throughout the human life cycle. Pets provide a crucial source of touch for individuals who would otherwise be without this sensory input. Touching an animal decreases a person's anxiety and stress levels. Touching a pet, as well as being a means of expressing affection, has a beneficial effect on owners' cardiovascular systems. People rarely pet an animal without talking to it, so it is not possible to assess the independent effects of the two activities. Researchers have reported that talking to and petting a companion animal arouse the owners' cardiovascular system less than talking with people. This lends credence to the non-threatening, supportive nature of the bond between humans and companion animals.

Pet animals provide a sense of calmness and security. People may be more willing to go for walks, to leave their homes, or to visit friends when their pet accompanies them or guards their homes in their absence. Recognizing the pleasant aura presented by their inclusion, advertisers and even politicians often use pets to help create desired moods. Both scenes and people in them are perceived as more friendly and less threatening when an animal is included than when no animal is present.

When animals are present, people tend to focus their attention on them, especially in stressful situations. This focus of attention outside the self can cause decreases in stress levels similar to those experienced during more conventional forms of stress reduction such as transcendental meditation or progressive relaxation. Watching fish swim in their tank has been as useful as hypnosis for reducing anxiety and pain during dental surgery. This type of observation of the natural world also can be useful in lowering blood pressure.

Caring for a pet can promote health by giving people responsibility, providing time orientation, and encouraging them to develop a more varied life-style. Taking responsibility for a pet can be especially important to patients whose activities are limited due to chronic diseases, handicaps, or social isolation.

In early childhood pets provide a connection to the natural world and are instrumental in teaching respect for other living things. For slightly older children, the responsibility of a pet may be instrumental in developing self-esteem, self-confidence, and independence.

Pets serve multiple functions at many points in the life cycle from early childhood through mature adulthood. Once contact with an animal is established, it is easier to enter into relationships with other people.