Why Do People Keep Pets

People have said, “The only creature to love someone more than it loves itself, is a dog.” The love doesn’t stop there; cats, hamsters, rabbits, and many other animals have unconditional love towards you. From 1970 to 2010, the number of cats and dogs in households has risen from 67 million to an estimated 164 million. Of these statistics, there are 78.2 million dogs and 86.4 million cats owned nationwide (humansociety). Why do so many people keep pets? There are numerous reasons for why people choose to follow through with the responsibility of owning one for themselves. They give you a companionship in life that some people need, and some people enjoy having. When you step through your door after a long, grueling, day of work, that tail-wagger welcomes you, or that furry feline jumps onto your lap meowing at you. You can count on them to be there for you, day and night. Though many people keep them only for their companionship, few people see what other benefits they can offer you. Pets are proven to improve depression, relieve stress, and rid the feeling of loneliness.Research has found that owning a dog can lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, and boost levels of feel-good chemicals in the brain (WebMD). They give a feeling of uncomplicated love. Unlike loved ones or family members, you can’t hurt your pets feelings or get advice you don’t want to hear. No matter what mistakes people make in life, they will love you unconditionally. Depression also improves when you maintain a daily schedule. The animals natural routine of waking you up and demanding food or walks can help keep you on schedule. Even something as simple as petting that fluffly feline in your lap, or tongue lapping dog laying next to you on your bed can help you feel better. It helps to have physical contact with someone when depressed, and pets can offer a similar feeling that feels naturally soothing. Keeping pets, such as dogs, will also increase the owner’s chance of outdoor activities and exercise. Most individuals with dogs walk them daily, giving both the pet and themselves time to get out and get some physical activity. Many dogs love to play, getting couch potatoes to walk out to the local park and play fetch, or maybe even meet up with others for a doggy play date. Other pets also give you physical activity without you even realizing it at times. Most fish owners clean their tank about once a week. This acquires you to get away from that cushiony lazy boy, refill the water, and carry the bowl or tank back and forth, giving you more physical opportunities than those who do not own fish. They boost your social opportunities by meeting others who also have dogs, thus enlarging your circle of friends and enriching your lives. Though many people keep pets more for companionship and sometimes health benefits, some keep them simply for their convenience or abilities. They act as a great alarm system, barking wildly or intimidating intruders with their frightening snarls and jaw clenching growls. When breaking into houses, most intruders run the other way when they are notified by an alarm, in most cases, being the dog. Often times the barking of one dog sets off a chain reaction through the neighborhood, waking up nearly the entire street, convincing most home-owners to look out of their window to see what all of the commotion is about. Another beneficial reason to keep a dog is for their incredible sense of smell. Depending on the dog, they can smell an estimated 1,000 to 10,000 times better than humans! This comes particularly handy for police trying to sniff out drugs. An officer relies on their trustworthy companion to find drugs when doing searches through cars, schools, and even whole buildings. Owning a pet can teach kids responsibility. Having to feed their pet a few times a week, or change out the kitty’s milk bowl, will help them learn to perform tasks on time and routinely. This role of responsibility for the pet may teach kids how to manage tasks on time; conversely, the child may begin to feel the pet becoming more of a chore than a companion. The pet often seems to be less interacted with when taking care of it becomes the child’s responsibility. One way to avoid this would be to break up feeding and cleaning into a schedule. One week the child takes care of the feeding more than cleaning the fish tank, and the next week the child focuses more on cleaning the tank and less on feeding.
People put their lives in the paws of their dogs each and every time they step out of their home. Guide dogs are trusted with a human’s life to navigate them through entire towns. The dogs are specifically trained to give the dog handler commands, letting them know when to turn left or right, stop at a busy traffic light, and even help them find elevator buttons. Additionally, the guide dog must know how to disobey commands that may put the dog handler in danger. This ability is called selective disobedience and is perhaps the most amazing things about guide dogs – that they know how to balance their own assessment on a situation with their obedience. This ability comes most important at street lights. When the team comes to a crosswalk, the dog isn’t able to see the different colored traffic lights. The dog handler listens to the flow of traffic and bases when it is safe to move only on what he hears. The dog then proceeds across the street when it feels the situation is safe. Not only does this dynamic-duo make an outstanding team on the streets, but they make a strong companionship at home. (HowStuffWorks)
Though pets can make strong bonds with families, there are a few down sides to owning these friendly felines. All living things eventually pass away, leaving a strong sadness or even depression in some cases with the owner. The companionship built between the two is hard to let go of, and the daily routine suddenly comes to a halt. Some people become so close to their pets that when “their time” comes, they feel as if they’ve lost a family member. Pets become costly throughout their life-time, which some people think of as a major downside to owning one. Having to tack on an extra twenty dollars to the end of the grocery list for food and supplies definitely puts a dent in the budget; Not to mention the money you put forth in building a kennel, buying a fish tank, or purchasing a bird cage. Some say that all of this cash put into the pets can be used for other resources, such as more food for the family or a half tank of gas. As seen in the graph on the right, the amount of money people cough up grows nearly every year. Another topic put forth argues that animal’s rights are violated when brought into a household. The question arises, “Should we be able to decide whether or not to keep a pet in a environment that is unnatural to their understanding?” Especially in keeping exotic species, for instance, monkeys. An environment such as a house is nearly impossible to adapt to for a species of that nature. Interaction with other species in the wild is important for animals, particularly ones who are used to natural environments.
People keep pets for many reasons: companionship, teaching responsibility, to improve or help people with disorders, and also for more beneficial reasons. Pets are good companions because they have unconditional love toward you; you can always count on them to be there waiting for you when you come home from a long, stressful, day of work. Pets, such as dogs, can help improve your health by lowering your blood pressure, and reducing stress. They are also used in many cases for more extreme situations. Some people trust their dog with their life, letting the dog maneuver them to and from destination, only based on a simple list of commands. Owning a pet can also improve responsibility in children, making them perform tasks such as taking the dog for a walk, cleaning the cat’s litter box or feeding the fish routinely. Not only do pets work well in households, but they also perform great for other situations such as a drug search. Officers use dogs daily to sniff areas out for drugs, allowing them to find narcotics in some of the most unreal places. Though many people think owning a pet is nothing short of a great idea, some think that along with the pet comes too much more to worry about, and that the animal is sometimes placed in an unnatural environment. Not owning a pet can increase the money you have monthly to pay bills, or can give a little extra cash towards your next grocery bill. But with Nearly six out of 10 U.S. households having a pet living with them, many families seem to find these flaws as minor setbacks, as pets can offer a bond incomparable to that of any human (CQ Researcher).

Works Cited
"America 's Pampered Pets." CQ Researcher by CQ Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.
"How Guide Dogs Work." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.
"U.S. Pet Ownership and Shelter Population Estimates : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.
Feature, Kathleen DohenyWebMD. "Pets for Depression and Health." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.

Cited: "America 's Pampered Pets." CQ Researcher by CQ Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013. "How Guide Dogs Work." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013. "U.S. Pet Ownership and Shelter Population Estimates : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013. Feature, Kathleen DohenyWebMD. "Pets for Depression and Health." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 08 Sept. 2013.