The Benefits of Having Companion Animals for People

Nowadays, many and many people have a pet, or more than one. Some of them have two legs, some of them have two legs, some of them have four legs, some of them of none at all. As a responsible owner, we need to do our duty as the master. We need to take care of their daily diet, we feed them, we bathe for them, we talk them for a walk, we offer a warm place for them to live and many more. It seems like human are an accompany for pets, but to some extent, pets are an accompany for human. In recent years, researchers have found out that pets can bring some obvious psychological benefits to their owners. In western society, many owners prefer to interact with animals rather than interact with human. In fact, studies have shown that animals facilitate the connection between human. Professor Gutman of the Department of Psychology at the University of Vienna has done a lot of research: children who have their own companion animals in their homes are much better at understanding the non-verbal communication numbers of others than those with the same social background but not raising animals at home.

According to the researches, companion animals (including horses, dogs, cats, rabbits and other rodents) have the potential to facilitate healthy emotional youth development in many ways. Therefore, psychologists report that children raised with pets are less prone to juvenile delinquency. Furthermore, taking care of a pet also can training children to cope with responsibilities and cultivate virtue. For instance, when a child has to take care for a dog, he/she has to walk with it and feed it regularly. In addition, exposure to pets at infancy also teaches children respect for other living things. On the basis of psychological theories of attachment, although it concentrated on attachment between humans. However, the studies shown that children show attachment behavior to pets. It is due to companion animals can give and receive affection from human. Thus, they can contribute to and partially fulfil attachment needs. Therefore, animals are a accompany for children. It can be said that pets in some ways can help the parents to educate for their child and accompanying children to grow up. Moreover, in the past 20 years, a large number of studies have shown that raising dogs is good for people's mind and body. For the elderly, dogs are a special good companion, especially those who have lost their appetite. Feeding a dog can also stimulate the appetite of the elderly, and the dog can accompany them to eat together. In some places, old people are not allowed to raise puppies after retirement. But in fact, keeping a dog is good for the elderly. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, American psychologist and psychiatrist Boris Levinson observed that in the elderly, elderly hospitals, and mental hospitals, if animals were present, it is easier for therapists to establish relationships with patients.

In addition, The American Heart Association confirms it: Pet ownership can lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and lower likelihood of obesity. Another study demonstrated that the people who have cats were 40 percent less likely than their feline-free counterparts to have a heart attack or stroke, says Dr. Becker. Thus, this fact prove that have a pet can helping human health and disease treatment, accelerated the patient recovery. Wherefore, pets are an accompany for human, they can act as medical staff to help human rehabilitation. On the other hand, cultural transmission is generally regarded as one of the key characteristics distinguishing human language from animal communication, human language depends on growing environment. It means people may inherit physical features from parents but do not inherit language from parents. We acquire a language in a culture with other speakers and not from parental genes. In contrast, a kitten, no matter where it born and bring up by who, it will produce “meow'. Therefore, human can communicate with human, but human cannot communicate with animals. This can prove can animals do not have language, so it could not be completely to said animals are an accompany for human. Chatting with dogs is not an abnormal behavior, and many people do this. Except chatting with dogs, we also instinctively interact with dogs in a way that communicates with others. For example, open your hands or pat the dog, pouting and other humanized behavior to express your affection. With the accompany of pets, people can bravely face or deal with fear, such as fear of dark loneliness. Meanwhile, when you are in a strange environment or dealing with strangers, if you are accompanied by a pet, you will be able to complete tasks more effectively and communicate more easily, and also easier to get closer to others. The purpose of most people to have a pet is to find a good partner for themselves.