Psychological Benefits
Children who own pets are often less self-centered than those who do not. Psychiatrically ill people were happier as a result of looking after a pet. Pets can provide emotional support at a time when it is most needed. People with immuno-compromising diseases can feel isolated and alone. Pets decrease feelings of loneliness and increase feelings of intimacy and constancy.
Given the right animal, people, and circumstances, pets can indeed serve as "therapists." In animal-assisted therapy programs, a companion animal may visit with hospital or nursing home patients. For the program to be safe and effective, the animal is carefully screened and the pet's caregiver is trained to guide the animal-human interactions. When a specific therapy is desired, a credentialed professional monitors the program. Even in less formal animal-assisted activities, where the animal is introduced to an individual or group with no specific therapeutic goal, patients and staff often experience improved morale and communication.
Pets are good for our emotional and physical health. Caring for a companion animal can provide a sense of purpose and fulfillment and lessen feelings of loneliness and isolation in all age groups. It's well known that relaxed, happy people do not become ill as often as those who suffer from stress and depression.
As early as 1700, an English mental institution called York Retreat used animals to help patients overcome withdrawal and detachment. Somehow the program was later dropped. "Pet Facilitated Therapy," as it is now called, was revived again during the 1960s through the efforts of Dr. Boris Levinson. This kind of therapy has been successful in helping severely withdrawn and violent patients get better. Pets are also being used to help persons with developmental disabilities learn and stroke victims recover their speech without being held back by self-consciousness.
Animals in a home may serve as a talisman against loneliness and depression. They may add a sense of safety and protection. They may encourage physical activity and social interaction with one's neighbors. They can be outlets of hobbies and opportunities for club interests. They may be the substitutes for children absent. The responsibilities and daily rituals of care may provide a touchstone of reality. They may divert one's cares and troubles. They are socially acceptable conversation pieces and opportunities for touching.
There is greater "plasticity" in pet/human relationships than in most human/human relationships: rules regulating roles in parental, sibling, marital and friendship relationships are more socially structured and codified.
Pets may serve as a "clock," providing a sense of order and a daily ritual for people. Pets may give us a realistic, naturalistic touchstone, a baseline of animal behavior against which we can sometimes compare our own troubles and put our own lives into perspective.
Pets have frequently been described as nonthreatening and non-judgmental companions. "The unambivalent nature of the exchange of affection between people and animals differs from exchanges with close family members and other relatives. Pets are a source of comfort that can be scheduled on demand of the owner, in almost any quantity, without bargaining or supplication," argued researchers Aaron Katcher and Erika Friedmann.
"Perhaps the most important health-related aspect of the human-animal relationship is play," said Robert Fagen of the University of Pennsylvania. "Animals that play are healthier and frequently live longer than those that don't. I would be willing to bet that interacting with an animal makes a person more sensitive in relationships with other humans.
The presence of pets in a household seems to contribute to the development of children's trust and self-esteem. Pets have also been observed to contribute to the development of ego strength in people in institutions.