Pets Are Our Real Medicine

Instead of taking bad drugs to lower stress levels and hardships, how about getting a dog? Maybe another fury friend? Just care for them, and you'll see the difference.

In this post, I seek to find the answer to the question, how does interaction between humans and animals effect how we live?

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Authors Lawrence Robinson and Jeanne Segal write about the positive effects of pet ownership (mostly with dogs). These authors both wrote for healthguide.org, which is a well trusted site for both mental health and a person's well-being.

1) Dogs, and even cats, bring great joy to humans. It has been proven that dogs can "ease loneliness, reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, promote social interaction, encourage exercise and playfulness, and provide unconditional love and affection." (Robinson and Segal). This then proves that owning a fury friend can make a bad day feel better. I agree with this observation because, from experience, just holding your animal can bring warmth and love quickly and the bad day seems to fade away.

2) Dogs have been scientifically proven to evolve in knowing how humans feel. It's like telling your dog to "sit" and they do, because they have adapted to learn what we say. Many may argue that their pets don't know what they are saying because they don't sit when they say "sit", but dogs are able to determine what the owner is saying by watching their gestures. Dogs are proven to be "even better at interpreting our tone of voice, body language" and our hand movements (Robinson and Segal). This statement is one I believe is true because my dog cannot distinguish what I am saying when I say "sit" or "down", but she knows to sit when I put my hand up in the air and to lie down when I put my hand palm-down.

3) Petting, touching, stroking, and even hugging your pet can make a huge difference in how you behave and your attitude. Their genuine happiness makes humans feel a great release of stress and depression after interacting with their pet. It has also been proven that "hardened criminals in prison have shown long-term changes in their behavior after interacting with dogs, many of them experiencing mutual affection for the first time." (Robinson and Segal). With experience, whenever I have a tough time with friends or I get a bad grade on a test, I scoop up my cats and give them a big hug. This sends a great deal of warmth through my veins and I almost forget about the bad day I had.

4) Dogs, and other animals as well, can give owners a better view of a healthier lifestyle in their future and what's good versus wrong. Even taking your dog for a walk provides a healthier lifestyle because you a forcing yourself to take a walk or run. Also, because many pets must run on a regular feeding schedule, exercise schedule, etc., this can allow humans to adopt a schedule of their own that can promote less stress. In order for this stress to be maintained, it is said that "[s]troking a dog lowers blood pressure" and allows the owner to feel a wave of relief over their body. This proves that owning a fury-friend can allow humans to live healthier and enjoy life just as much, maybe even just a bit more.