Madyson Stager

Ms. Leah Huizar

UWRT 1102

4/3/17

Everyone Needs a Pet

Having a companion is a very important aspect for ones life. Companions are people

who support, cherish, and care for one another. Companions are usually considered to be

humans, but a person could also have a pet as one of their companions. Owning a pet can be a

tough challenge because they need a similar upkeep to humans. Pets are one more thing to feed,

water, and take care of everyday besides oneself. Some may say pets are too much to care for, or

too time bearing, but what if your animal could save you expensive medical bills? New studies

have proven that a persons pet can detect if their owner has developed a disease, before they

even know (Leung). Everyone should own a pet, because it has been proven that pets can have

several impacts on ones life, including major health benefits.

Many pet owners own pets for comfort, but some own pets because they can see the

benefits they are receiving from their pet. Some of the benefits I am talking about are

companionship, unconditional love, stress relief and a good starter for social interaction between

people (Carlisle 2015). 70 different parents, who were known to have children with Autism

Spectrum Disorder (ASD), were randomly called in a telephone survey. The survey was to see if

pet ownership could decrease behavior problems and increase the social skills of children with

ASD. The items that were measured in these children were social skills, behavioral problems,

how attracted they were to the pet they owned, and how much they interacted with their pet. The

results that Gretchen Carlisle concluded were that children with ASD who owned dogs as pets

had social skills that were greater than children with ASD who did not own a dog. This shows
that the results could be evidence to prove that increased social interaction could be linked to pet

ownership.

The obesity in America has increased drastically over the past few years. People are not

eating healthy foods and are exercising less. A study was taken to compare the physical activity

levels of pet owners and non-pet owners to see who is overall more active. This study took place

in the United States. The things that were taken into consideration were if the person had a dog

and how much time the actively spent walking their dog every day. The results concluded that

there is an association between dog ownerships and increased levels of physical activity in

different types of populations. One population of pregnant women who owned dogs, were found

to be the most active of all the populations studied. Although, the information in the study could

have been less accurate, because of information left out by self-reports, it is shocking that

pregnant women were the most active out of all the populations. Dogs are usually always up to

be active by wanting to run or play with people or other dogs. By simply walking a dog a few

minutes a day, it can promote one to be more active. By being more active, it promotes ones

mind to be healthier.

It does not take a disease for one to be unhealthy. Pets are one thing that can contribute to

a persons wellbeing, by giving their companionship. A pet can be a companion that gives a

person happiness by helping them in physical activities, relaxation, and whim. These things are

factors that effect a persons quality of life. A persons pet can be something that gives them

factors to improve their mental health. Mental health reflects how stable a person is, how they

operate, and how they interact with people or their social skills. Having good social skills is

important for people to maintain relationships with one another. Pets and humans can have and
maintain relationships with one another, but they should not replace human relationships. Pets

simply give support by never abandoning or straining their relationship with their owners.

When a person thinks about ways to save money, the thought of owning a pet is probably

not the first thing that will come to their mind. People who have health problems tend to visit the

hospital more frequently than people without those problems. As I have talked about the many

health benefits of owning a pet, another benefit is the owner could save good amounts of money

every year. An unhealthy person spends sometimes extreme amounts of money on medications

and visits to the doctor. Since it is proven that pets can reduce the severity of humans health

problems, they can also reduce the money spent on medications and doctor visits. In Australia, in

the year of 1994, the amount of savings due to the existence of pets were $988 million

(Headey 241). This sample survey study was held over twenty-three years ago, so the amount

saved then, has probably dramatically increased. By spending roughly, a couple of hundred

dollars a year to take care of a pet, one can end up saving thousands a year on medical bills.

Owning a pet can have several health benefits, but they can also influence ones state of

being. In a study conducted between pet and non-pet owners, doctors wanted to see if there was

an impact of psychological behavior in people who owned pets. Some of the things measured

were things like depression, self-esteem, physical illness and fitness, personality, social issues,

and many more. The results founded that pet owners had an overall better well-being than non-

pet owners. Pet owners were found to have better fitness, self-esteem, happiness, and more

positive personality factors. A second study was conducted to see if pets fill the social needs of

their owners. The second study concluded, when people experienced greater social needs

fulfillment from their dog, they were less depressed, less lonely, greater in self-esteem, more

happy, and tended to experience less perceived stress (McConnell & Brown 1247). This shows
a persons pet can affect them greatly. Pets factor in every little detail of their owners life. This

in return makes a person who they are.

There is a common belief that when people have children, the children will develop

allergies to those animals. This misconception has been proved wrong thanks to new studies in

children. These studies have shown that being around pets, ideally during the first two years in a

babies life, can reduce the risk of developing common allergies than living without pets

(Kirchheimer). The children studied were studied from when they were born to the age of two,

then every four years after that. This study shown that children who lived animals earlier in life,

were less likely to develop allergies to the dander off those animals than children who did not

have animals in their homes. Children who had animals in their home were also lees likely to

develop allergies to dust mites, ragweed, and grass (Kirchheimer). This shows there is no need

to get rid of the pet in ones home if there are children.

Pets, people have in their home, are more than animals these days. Pets are companions

and apart of ones family. Even though, the task of caring for a pet can be a challenge at time, the

benefits of pets will outweigh the cost. Everyone should own a pet, because it has been proven

that pets can have several impacts on ones life, including major health benefits. In the long run,

a pet will save their owner money, improve their health, and will always be there for them. Who

would not want that?

 Carlisle, Gretchen K. The Social Skills and Attachment to Dogs of Children with Autism

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pp. 11371145. Springer Online Journals, doi:10.1007/s10803-014-2267-7.

http://link.springer.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/article/10.1007%2Fs10803-014-2267-7

Headey, Bruce. Health Benefits and Health Cost Savings Due to Pets: Preliminary

Estimates from an Australian National Survey. Social Indicators Research, vol. 47, no. 2, June

1999, pp.233243. doi:10.1023/A:1006892908532.

http://link.springer.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1006892908532

Soares, Jesus. Odds of Getting Adequate Physical Activity by Dog Walking. Journal of

physical activity and health, vol. 12, no. 6, ser. 01, 2015, PubMed, doi:10.1123/jpah.2013-0229.

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/ehost/command/detail?sid=c2c51d91-

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www.jstor.org/stable/25455496

Leung, Rebecca. "Can Dogs Sniff Out Cancer?" CBS News. CBS Interactive, 10 Jan. 2005.

Web. 03 Apr. 2017. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-dogs-sniff-out-cancer-06-01-2005>.

Kirchheimer, Sid. "Pets May Prevent Allergies in Kids." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 03

Apr. 2017. <http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20031014/pets-may-prevent-allergies-in-

kids#1>.