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Pet Therapy | Pet Therapy Dog | Pet Therapy Article

All of us dream of unconditional, non judgmental love and support.

Unfortunately this is not always possible and most of our relations are complicated and strained.

A pet is an animal kept for companionship and enjoyment or a household animal, as opposed to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around. There is now a medically-approved class of therapy animals, mostly dogs that are brought to visit confined humans. Walking a dog can provide both the owner and the dog with exercise, fresh air, and social interaction.

Pets provide us with companionship and unconditional love making us feel needed and staving off loneliness and depression, thus reducing the amount of stress we experience in response to feelings of social isolation and other issues.

Today all of us are stressed at one time or the other leading to ill health.

To reduce stress, we usually hear tips like “Take up yoga” or “Meditate regularly”. Great advice – but getting a pet is also a fun way of reducing stress and improving your health. Recent studies show that pet owners on an average have lower blood pressure than non pet owners.

Spending time with your pet will soothe you in many ways.
We also get more exercise when we have pets-taking them for walks, playing with them and so on, and as exercise is good for reducing stress and increasing wellbeing, owning a pet increases these benefits.

Apparently in some people with suicidal tendencies, owning a pet gives the owner a sense of being wanted, a sense of responsibility and thus a reason to live.

Many cities and towns have local ordinances limiting the number of pets a person may have, and may also restrict or forbid certain pets (such as fowl or exotics). Certain breeds of dog, such as pit bulls and rottweilers, are banned in some places. Dog/other canid/wolf mixes are also banned in some places.

Adopting a pet can be a very fulfilling experience, however select a pet that fits your living space and lifestyle, otherwise it will only be an additional source of stress.

You could adopt a stray dog from the streets or a dog of Indian pedigree like the “rajapalayam” since they are easier to maintain in our climate. Dogs of Indian pedigree make wonderful companions. They are hardy, intelligent, fiercely loyal and protective and even gentle around the children in the house. What more can we ask for?

Organizations like Blue Cross have focused on mongrels and street dogs or cats as pets to save them from an uncertain and often cruel future in the streets. You could always visit one of their centers to adopt a pet.

You could check out the Blue Cross website at http://www.bluecross.org.in/

So do adopt a pet and step into the world of love, companionship and fun!

About the Author

Shweta Subbiah is an uber woman with a critical style of approach to places she visits. She is also an animal lover. To read more of Shweta’s articles, visit www.FindNearYou.com.

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