Animals as support: this is how dogs and cats help people

Created: 01/03/2022, 11:55 AM

From: Anna Katharina Küsters

Pets are an important support for many people, especially in lonely times.

It also helps children in their development to live with animals.

Basel - Especially during the Corona period, a withdrawn life without much social contact was and is a means of protecting yourself from infection with the virus.

However, people have always been a being who needs exchange and who quickly feels lonely without other people.

In order not to live completely in isolation, many people bought a dog or a cat.

Because pets have been proven to support people on an emotional level as well, as Landtiere.de reports.

Animals as support: this is how dogs and cats help people

If the mistress or master comes home, where an excited dog can hardly wait to arrive, it feels nice. The owner feels needed, bears responsibility for the well-being of a living being and does not spend the day or evening alone. When the long-awaited dog or the beloved cat moves in with animal fans, not only does their everyday life change as people have more tasks to perform. Mum and dad also gain emotional support for lonely and sociable times.

The so-called Emotional Support Animals, for example, show how much influence pets have on people.

People who have to fly but are afraid of flying register their dog as an Emotional Support Animal.

The driver no longer has to go into the cargo hold during the flight, but can be placed on the lap in the cabin of the mistress or master.

This may not please every passenger, but the owner's fear of flying often dampens the dog's presence enormously.

Children who live with pets learn a lot from them.

(Symbol picture) © Olga Pankova / Imago

Animals as Support: The Effect on Children

Not only adults help pets to cope with everyday life stronger.

Even children who grow up with pets learn a lot from cats and dogs.

The Institute for Interdisciplinary Research into Human-Animal Relationships (IEMT) in Switzerland notes the following important points:

• Emotional attachment: Children quickly learn to take responsibility for the animal and see that a living being is dependent on their actions.

• Attention: Children learn early to pay attention to the needs of others.

  The pet clearly signals when it likes or dislikes something.

  In this way, children learn, on the one hand, that other living beings have needs as well as themselves and, on the other hand, that attention is needed in order to see and understand them.

• Conflict resolution: If animals live in the household, it is often easier for children to resolve conflict situations between people.

  When an animal needs help or two animals are hostile, children sometimes have to intervene at an early age.

  This teaches them to better tackle and resolve personal conflicts that arise in everyday life.

Animals actively support people in every life situation and a healthy human-animal bond has advantages for both parties.

In any case, an animal-friendly upbringing of the dog is important in this coexistence.