Pets as therapy

I unashamedly and largely unconditionally love animals.

When I am out and about I will notice (and normally comment on) any dog that I see, try to pat any cat that I come across, and often pause to listen as I catch a few notes of bird song. Animals just simply give me so much pleasure.. and... I don't think I am the only one.

I only have to cast my mind back to the last time I visited a zoo to remember how enraptured my fellow humans were with our fellow planet earth dwellers, and the variety and sheer size of the pet food isle at the supermarket is testament to how much we love our pets. I certainly know that I am guilty of, on occasion, making sure that my cat has all his needs met before I consider my own.

So what do we love about animals, and indeed our pets so much?

This question prompted me into doing a simple internet search into scientific research on pets as therapy. I was surprised to see so many studies in this area, including those involving nursing homes, women's prisons, autistic children, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, hospitalised adolescents.... the list goes on.

As I skimmed through the odd abstract and review, there was something that stood out to me the most. Animals (particularly dogs and cats) are widely loved and responded to by many walks of life, despite age, illness, background or environment. No wonder they make such great therapists!

I have my personal theories about why so many of us invite animals into the centre of our worlds. They are non-judgmental, relatively consistent in their affections, tactilely pleasing, simple to relate to, and in general, oh so cute! They provide company in times of loneliness, they make us laugh with their antics, caring for them instils a sense of routine and responsibility, and they remind us to not take life so seriously!