The Importance Of Pet Ownership

By simply observing, pet ownership is widespread nowadays—look to the left, there is a dog; look to the right, there is a cat. Defined by Britannica Online (2015), a pet is any animal that is kept by people which serves as a source of companionship and pleasure. Most people will describe pets as non-human best friends, confidants, and stress-relievers. In fact, there are many ways to describe a pet—many things that resemble to a pet; too much to the extent that it cannot be concretized, because everyone differs in perspective. Pets do give a lot. Pets do give simple joys and pleasures, but pet ownership requires something in return, for it carries weight of responsibility. As said in Flintshire County Council (n.d.), before getting a pet, the

Moreover, it can make problems worse, because stress generally dominates as a negative force—as an unbearable burden to carry. Hence, stress is heavily associated to health, which usually triggers diseases, and once the disease is there, it makes it harder for the patient to recover (Krantz, Thorn, Kiekolt-Glaser, n.d.). There is no age group that is exempted from stress, even children may experience it at a young age. According to Levitt (n.d.), stress can begin at a young age, when supportive relationships are absent. In correlation of all the topics discussed, pets and stress, there has been claims that stress is alleviated and reduced through pets; in fact, pets nowadays are being used in therapies. In a research done by Fine (2000), it was stated that a simple touch on an animal can already give physical comfort, can be soothing, and can instill sense of security (as cited in Jackson, 2012). Cats and dogs are not the only pets used in therapies; today, there are many kinds of other existing pet therapies, such as: feline-assisted therapy, dolphin-assisted therapy, and the like (Jackson,

The sample that these researchers used to gather data, consisted of 50 pet owners and 50 non-pet-owners, who took a survey called the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). The researchers were then able to conclude that pet owners had a lower level of stress and a higher level of life satisfaction than those of non-pet-owners. This study was also supported by a study conducted by McConnell, Brown, Shoda, Stayton, and Martin (2011); where the research produced by the researchers aimed to know whether pets can serve as a medium for substitute in the fulfillment of social needs that is generally provided by humans towards each other. The researchers were able to conclude that the study that has been conducted has presented evidences that support the thesis statement: pet-owners gain both psychological benefits from the ownership of pets (McConnell, Brown, Shoda, Stayton, & Martin, 2011). In order to accurately conclude the research statement, the researchers have decided to produce three sub-studies. In the first sub-study, the researchers aimed to know whether pet owners enjoy a better well-being than non-pet-owners. In order to gather data for this study, the researchers used a