As we celebrate Human-Animal Awareness Week we want to share ways in which we celebrate the bond we share with our fur babies. As pet parents know, our pets and the benefits they bring to our lives is something every one of us celebrates and recognizes daily. Celebrating our bond with our pets is something we do all day, every day!
We do love, though when a pet-centric organization claims a week and highlights the bond we have with our dogs, cats, hamster, reptiles, fish, birds, ferrets and more!
The Animals & Society Institute “created Human-Animal Relationship Awareness week, celebrated during the second full week in November, to honor relationships between human and other animals.” Pet parents look to their companion animals for unconditional love and support, but may not consider the other animals with whom we share the planet. The Animals & Society Institute uses this second week of November to raise awareness of wild animals, agricultural animals and the animals that support our human activities.
Celebrating Our Bond With Our Pets
Our pets, as we know, love us unconditionally. They don’t care if we have bed head, are in a bad mood, are unshaven or are feeling lazy on a Sunday afternoon. Pets seem to instinctively understand when we need their silent love and support and when we need to be left alone. They are there with a warm snuggle, a loving glance or a robust, enthusiastic greeting when we come home from a day at work!
We dare anyone who lives with a pet to not laugh at its antics when your dog is playing fetch, your cat is running after a feather toy or when your ferret is stealing items and hiding them. It’s hard to feel stress when watching your fish swimming around his tank or your reptile sunning himself on a heated log.
Medical studies have proven that simply petting a dog or cat can lower blood pressure; that seems like the best medicine we could take! The feeling of calmness you experience when you see and touch your pets is not your imagination! Celebrating our bond with our pets is simple — give them a belly rub, a fun toy and a warm bed!
Here are other ways in which your pets help you feel healthier and happier and why we celebrate our bond with them.
They’re good for your physical health. If you have a dog, you will have to walk her. Dog ownership will get you up and off the couch — even if only for a short time and any kind of exercise is healthier than no exercise at all.
They’re good for your mental health. When you have a dog and if you’re out walking him, you may meet your neighbors. If you take your dog to a dog part, he’s getting exercise and you can interact with the other humans. A pet can make your life less solitary and you feel less isolated; this is crucial for older adults who may see their world shrinking if they lose a spouse.
Overall health and well-being. Studies show that pets can:
- Lower our cholesterol
- Reduce our stress
- Lower our blood pressure levels
- Increase our fitness levels
- Lower our risk of cardiovascular disease
The American Heart Association, in 2013, completed a study that showed having a dog was associated with a reductin in the risk of heart disease and an increased survival among cardiovascular patients.
Having a pet may lower your risk for allergies. Studies have found that children who grew up with pets suffered fewer allergies than those who grew up in a household with no pets in residence. A study showed that babies who were exposed to dogs in the first year of their lives were less prone to develop allergies later in life.
Chronic pain relief. If you live with a pet and suffer chronic pain, simply being with your pet could ease your symptoms. The reason for this is the happiness your pet provides, releases endorphins and this may alleviate your pain symptoms.
Stronger human relationships could form because of the strong relationship you have with your dog. Pet parents have been found to be more compassionate than those who don’t share their lives with pets and that compassion for their pets pours over into other areas of their lives.
Dogs can be trained to sense changes in health of their owners. Dogs can sense a change in blood sugar and alert his owner to a blood sugar drop. Service dogs help their owners be more mobile, live healthier lives. Emotional support animals help their owners deal with depression or anxiety.
Our dogs and cats and other animals with whom we share our lives give us so much. In return they ask for a soft bed, a loving relationship, delicious, healthy food and a lifetime of love. We certainly know we’re going to give our beloved fur babies that and more!
Robbi Hess, Woman In The Pet Industry Solopreneur Finalist and award-winning author, is multi-petual. When not caring for her pets or taking them on walks, she is a speaker, efficiency and effectiveness guru, content creator, social media manager and blogger. She writes at All Words Matter, My Divas Dish, and is the story editor and chief cat herder at Positively Woof/Crimeless Cat.
