Anyone that really knows me, knows how much I love pets. I do not intend on owning a cat as I do not like them being on my countertops, but I have nothing against them other than that. Growing up on a farm, I have always had animals around me. The last five years in the Middle East have been strange not having a pet but then I am always busy. I have thought about fostering a dog many times but always talked myself out of it. Even 6 weeks ago, until I saw a post for a rescue dog that had an injured leg and who was so scared of people around him. I knew I wanted to foster this dog and that I had, at the moment, the time that he needed.
Needless to say, Gary the dog, has gone from being afraid of people to owning my apartment. With his spot on the couch, sharing my dinner, and guarding the door of my bedroom while I am working there or asleep, I am not able to make a move without him knowing. Mia, my dog at home, passed away a year ago, and fostering Gary has made me remember and realise all the benefits there is with having an animal in your life. Some that I did not even realise I needed or missed.
My last job back in Ireland was a difficult job, working with homeless families. When I would get home in the evening, I would be exhausted and drained from the day. Before I would even get out of my car, Mia would greet me with the biggest hug and would refuse to move until she had given me what she felt was enough love. It was what I needed every evening, even if I did not always want it. She would always sense when I was down and be there for me in her own way, and the best thing was that because she was a dog, she did not ask questions and just listened to whatever I had to say.
Benefits of having a pet in your life
- Companionship – while I am at home, my foster dog is by my side, makes me feel guilty when I work too late also!
- Security – they can be helpful to guard and warn you of danger, but can also give you a sense of security not being alone both physically and mentally
- To help relieve stress – I know for sure I feel calmer when I am around animals, even in these stressful times animals have a natural calming effect, to most people anyway
- Good listeners – they just listen and may give you affection if you have something you feel you want to talk about, but not to someone who is going to give you solutions or answers
- Help relieve anxiety – for all the reasons above, reducing stress can help reduce anxiety. Animals can also help you regulate your breathing when you do start getting anxious. Some dogs are trained specifically to work with those that have anxiety and will lay on the person when they sense the person is getting anxious as this can help reduce the effects and prevent major anxiety attacks.
- Help lessen the effects of depression – I know I keep talking about dogs but it is the animal I have the most experience with, cats and other animals can be just as beneficial if not more in some areas, they add comfort, security, and a reason for you to focus on something else, on top of the care and support they offer you in many ways
- They do not give you their opinions – well my foster dog does make me feel guilty when I have not spent, as he sees, enough time with him, but they just love and care for you unconditionally
- They help keep you in a routine – dogs I know especially are very routine focused and like everything at the same time, they sense the time somehow. This can help you get into a regular routine, which can also help your mental health and well-being
- Give you affection – especially during this time when showing physical signs of affection to people are limited, pets want to show you they love and care for you by being close to you
- Help keep you focused – on your routine, on self-care time away from screens, on so many things
- If they are like Gary, will also help you from snacking as he wants to share everything you eat
- Can keep you active, you will not always feel going for a walk is as difficult
- For children, it can help with their self-esteem and development
- Also for children, it has been proven that reading to animals, can really help them with their progress, I guess they do not feel the same pressure
- It can help with interactions and social fears – by speaking and talking to your pet or even having your pet with you in some situations can really help how you feel and interact
- It gives you responsibility for another living thing, which can help keep you motivated and focused
- Make you feel happier – I can’t help but smile at Gary every day. Mia, no matter how long it had been since I had seen her she always made me feel for the first couple of minutes anyway like the most important person in her world, how could that not make you happy!
- Can make a bad situation feel more manageable – animals have a great sense of how you are feeling so can help you regulate your feelings and emotions, helping you feel less anxious and better able to manage what is happening
- Prevent feelings of loneliness – I think most people responded without stating how happy they were when I told them I fostered a dog, knowing how little I am interacting with others that I had someone with me
- Warn you of danger – they can sense something might happen before you. I have read stories of cats waking up owners frantically in the middle of the night to the owner finding the gas still on
- Adds fun and excitement like no other – it has taken Gary a couple of weeks to settle in with me but now I am getting to see his active and playful side which is so much fun to be around
- Help you slow down – I love my job, but I sometimes spend too much time working, I know in the past month of Gary living with me I have spent more time watching telly as I sit with him. Which is a good thing as I am switching off and rejuvenating myself.
- Gentle understanding with people of determination – with their six sense they are natural to support people with additional needs, they are non-judgemental and calming for those who need it
- Someone to greet you when you come home – nothing beats this; walking into your home and it not being empty. Although Gary’s current welcome is a face of ‘where have you been’, it still makes me smile!
This is just a general list of how pets can benefit your life and they are not even the ones that are trained for specific purposes like medical alert dogs, guide dogs, autism dogs, and so on. Each pet has their own personality that can sometimes reflect that of their owner even if you are only fostering them. Animals only attack for two reasons, for food and if they feel threatened. Humans are not as considerate of animals in this way.
I have seen stories before of how pets, including horses, have been brought into hospitals to comfort terminally ill patients and dogs sitting outside hospitals after their owners have been brought in. They are natural healers in all shapes and sizes.
If you show animal care and support, they will only give you this back multiplied. I know my family is happier as lately I am not interacting with others as much as I would have prior to COVID, so they are happy that I have a companion and that I am not alone. I have only had Gary a little over a month, but it has been one of the best decisions I have made. There has been a lot of learning for us both, I have never had a dog living indoors with me and he has never lived indoors. Our personalities have had to take time to get to know each other and set our own boundaries, and we are getting there, and we are more alike in ways than I thought we would be. He is starting to get playful with me and finding the joy in being a dog.
There are many ways you can help support animals and support yourself. You can adopt, foster, pet sit, support at shelters by bringing dogs for walks, and many more. Animals are gifts to us that give us more than we give to them. I know not everyone will agree with this and feel the same way as I do, but I know for sure I will find it hard to be sad when I am around animals; so that is always a positive. 😊
