Owning a Pet Can Make You a Healthier Human

They are cute, they are furry, they are a lot of responsibility, but they are always happy to see us and they love us unconditionally.  What are they? They are our pets!  When owning a pet the pros always seem to dramatically outweigh the cons of ownership.  They teach children (and some adults) responsibility, they teach everyone the feeling of true unconditional love, and they also provide us silly human a few health benefits.

Yes owning a pet can help to improve not only your physical health, but you mental health as well.    The physical health benefits are fairly obvious, it has been well documented that a person’s blood pressure is reduce by the simple act of petting an animal or watching some fish in an aquarium.

It is easy to see how dogs force you to increase your physical exercise by them just needing to be walk.  Dogs always want to walk and they don’t care if you convinced yourself on the way home that you weren’t going to hit the gym, they will want to walk forcing you to strap on some sneakers and get a walk in yourself. So yes you skipped the gym, but you still managed to get some exercise in.  The younger the dog the more energy needs to by expelled which means the more exercise you will have to get or risk all that pent up energy on your furniture and shoes.

While you may not need to walk cats, if you have ever owned one you know that they are prone to burst of energy that must be addressed by play or you risk a few serious scratches on your toes or any other part you choose to move during this burst of energy.

While the physical benefits of pet ownership are obvious and well documented, the mental health benefits are just as important and great.  Walk a dog down any street and you will have at least one social interaction.  People love dogs and dogs love people so while you may not make lasting friendships because of your dog you will at least meet your neighbors helping to give you a better sense of community.

Everyday grown-ups go to work where they are judge for almost every decision they make, and mistakes are huge fears.  There is no recess or naptime there is only work work and hoping that you get it all right.  Pets facilitate play and in that pet owners enter a less self-conscious place or in pain term their inner child comes out.  Pet owners act silly in front of their pets, more so than their human friends. And well those pets act silly right back.  Speaking of all that silly play, pets help to keep their owner “in the moment” your dog doesn’t care if you have a pile of laundry to do, have emails that need to be sent, or even if you contribute enough to your 401kj.  They just care that you throw that ball when they bring it back to you.

As we age life can get a bit lonely, pets add companionship as mentioned before walking a dog can help you not only exercise, but interact with your fellow humans.  Cats make great companions for those who may not have the energy or physical ability to take care of a dog.  Pet owners live longer and have better “golden years” than those without pets.

Pet ownership should never be taken lightly, pets are for life (their life) but they add so much to our lives both physical and mentally than they take. Plus how can you rest those furry kisses?