When animals are around us they make our mood better than ever—no matter the animal, cats, dogs, birds, rodents, snakes, lizards, etc. Scientifically, pets lower cholesterol levels, a stress-related hormone, and lower one’s blood pressure. Other studies show that pets reduce loneliness and boost social energy as they provide unconditional love.
Pets help people with conditions such as ADHD and autism. Animals can help people keep up a routine, for example, going on walks, feeding times, playing with them, etc. Pets especially help children with ADHD since the little ones have more energy and no way to release this energy. So, playing with their companion can be a good way to relieve all that energy.
“When I don’t have anything to do, I look for my cat and he comforts me because he’s so adorable,” says Steven Field, freshman.
Pets help with conditions like autism by providing a sense of an unconditional relationship and supporting their owner in building their social skills and self-confidence. The support pets can also provide comfort and the need to be calm in stressful social situations. With smaller children, animals can help with sensory issues, depending on the pet.
“Whenever I’m upset or angry my cat curls up next to me and helps me calm down,” says Natalie Brown, freshman.
Therapy dogs or animals help their companions when stressed – helping them relax while showing intense and unconditional love. Therapy animals don’t just help relieve stress – they are also able to help their owner with their depression, and anxiety, and help with developing social skills. Therapy animals are allowed to go to most places with their owners. Still, most business owners won’t allow any pets at all no matter if they are therapy animals or service animals. Most business owners prefer no animals in their buildings overall. The reason many landlords have a no-pet policy is that a pet could ruin their establishment and it would cost thousands to fix
Therapy animals, like any other pet, want to help in any way they can. But, therapy animals are more professionally trained than regular home pets. They are professionally trained to help their companion when their anxiety is too high or help us when we get too frustrated or stressed. Overall, any pet helps us return to our senses and will help us through our toughest times.
