Pets And Your Quality Of Life
The supportive role of animals in human lives has been a real factor since cavemen put on clothes. Animals have been used for centuries for hunting, herding, tracking and guarding the homestead or the owner sleeping under the stars.
A couple of centuries ago, doctors and caretakers began to notice the improvement in mental patients after interacting with dogs. Several hundred years later, a concept of Pet Facilitated Psychotherapy was coined by a child psychiatrist noticing that his patients only responded to him and made any positive strides after they played with his dog.
In today’s world, there are guide dogs for the blind, hearing dogs for the deaf and dogs for the disabled. There are training facilities all over creating special dogs to help disabled people, including seniors, with their restrictions.
There has been enough research published in the last 10 or 20 years to create a buzz in the medical profession when they noticed that owning a pet, or even simply petting a dog or cat, would lower blood pressure. Some dogs have been able to detect the onset of an epileptic seizure or, in diabetics, the early stages of hypoglycemia. It is well-known that people with pets, companion animals, survive heart surgery at a higher rate than those who do not.
What this means to Baby Boomers and older seniors is that adding a pet to your life will surround you with unconditional love, around-the-clock companionship and dramatically improve the quality of your life. Not only will you be less lonely and depressed, but you will have fewer health problems, get more exercise and have higher levels of self-esteem.
When we all reach a certain age, friends are no longer with us and families may be in other states or countries. Loneliness, depression and some fear might become an everyday part of your life. Companion animals can replace those negative drains on the quality of your life by providing love, support,
protection and something to take care of and share you life with. Both dogs and cats can provide this warm, fuzzy love on a 24/7 basis.
Additionally, being responsible for a pet’s life can give new meaning to your life, especially if you are living alone or not near family. Pets in your life can give you a sense of well-being, encouragement and a reason for living. The unconditional love they will show you will fill your spirit and warm any heart.
Tags: owning a pet, pets, petting
My husband and I have 2 dogs which were rescued from a shelter and they bring so much pleasure to our lives. We take them traveling with us and they get us out walking daily.
There’s nothing more motivational for exercise than having an expectant pooch staring at your every move, waiting for that daily walk.