Kristen Dennis
Honors Contract Essay
Dr. Potter
2 May 2014
The Psychological Benefits of Pets
62% of Americans own at least one pet (Chloe)- 70% of pet owners have a dog and 46% have a cat (humanesociety.com). Americans spend more than $50 billion annually on their beloved dogs, cats, fish, and other companions (humanesociety.com). Over 90% of pet owners regard their pet as a valued, family member (McNicholas, Gilbey, Rennie, Ahmedzai, Dono, Omerod). But pets are messy, loud, expensive, and require lots of care and attention. So what makes pets worth all the trouble and inconvenience? What redeeming quality do pets have that make us willing to spend so much time and money on them? According to the American Psychological Association, pets can serve as important sources of social and emotional support for both children, adults, and the elderly alike.
One of the most common reasons for pet ownership is companionship. Amongst psychologists, companionship is considered theoretically different from social support because it does not offer extrinsic support, which is not a part of the essential nature of someone, but provides intrinsic satisfactions, which are absolutely vital and necessary to our well being and happiness (McNicholas, Gilbey, Rennie, Ahmedzai, Dono, Omerod). Because of this, companionship is very important in keeping and nourishing positive mental health throughout your life.
The bond between pets was first studied over 30 years ago when psychologists Alan Beck of Purdue University and Aaron Katcher of the University of Pennsylvania actually measured what happens physically when a person pets a friendly and familiar dog (Stanley). Definite signs of reduced stress were recorded, heart rate slowed, blood pressure lowe...
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...the dog enters a public building (usdogregistery.org).
Emotional support dogs are dogs that have been trained to provide companionship and comfort to those suffering from various emotional and mental issues and diseases (usdogregistery.org). These dogs do require training, but do not have to perform specific tasks like therapy dogs do. Their sole job to to provide unconditional love and support to their owners (usdogregistry.org). These dogs can assist people who have depression, anxiety disorders, fears and phobias, bipolar disorder, and many more (usdogregistery.org). And, just like service dogs, they are protected under the Fair Housing Amendments Act, which allows these dogs to live with their owners even when there is a no pet policy in place, and the Air Carrier Access Act, which allows their pets to fly with them at no additional charge (usdogregistry.org).
For the mass population of pet owners, pets are considered a treasure, so the conversation of how much is to be spend on them is a hot debut. I do agree with Burkhart Bilger's Argument that, “Our love affair with pets our pets has gotten out of control.” but I contend with the ideal that it is a widespread problem. I still insist that owners should show attention and love to their pet but so without the overspending in regards to your income. This topic is brought up in Bilgers’ article “The Last Meow” where he uses different facts, examples, and stories that back up my position.
Have you ever wondered how much it costs to have and maintain a pet? Burkhard Bilger, the author of “The Last Meow”, explains how Americans spend a lot of money on their pets and that people's “love affair” with their pets has gotten out of control. An observation I have made is that in many movies dogs are treated very well. When I was younger, I watched a movie called Bratz and one character would always have her dog inside a dog purse and they would even get manicures and pedicures together. The dog always had shiny clothes on and it was always very clean. Therefore, I agree with Bilger's argument that Americans “love affair” with their pets has gotten out of control.
Some medical professionals do not believe that mental health patients can benefit from therapy dogs and go as far as saying it is a risk far as to say that it is a to the patient and compromise the patients ability to take care of the dog. When people who suffer with mental health issues qualify to get a therapy dog. The mental health patient is tested to see if they are capable of taking care of the dog. Those in need of assistance should use therapy dogs frequently do to the part of the benefits to using these pets to improve mental and emotional health as and physical health. Therapy dogs are beneficial to people who suffer from mental health issues by providing companionship as well as support. Some people with mental health issues have a hard time trusting others and need someone to talk to; Service dogs are important because to make they people with mental health problems feel better and help people with these disorders deal with their emotions.
A couple of emotional problems have been tested by researchers in 2011. This study was known as the Applied Animal Behaviour Science. This was the first quantitative data made about puppy mill dogs. The research was done on more than 1,100 dogs who had averagely had a new home for about two years. The research showed “The dogs were found to have s...
Emotional support animals are not well-trained animals that perform tasks for those with disabilities like service dogs. They are animals that supply comfort to those that have emotional needs. Unlike service dogs, emotional support animals are given validity through letters from mental health professionals. Animals that are allowed on airplanes under the term “emotional support” are not limited to dogs. Other have brought their peacocks, cats, ducks, turkeys, and monkeys.
The National Service Animal Registry makes life peaceful when one registers emotional support dog if the dog is suggested / chosen as an ESA for the person. Emotional Support Letter If a person needs to be legally qualified to obtain an Emotional Support Animal, he / she should be considered and certified as an emotionally disabled person by a licensed mental health professional (therapist, psychologist, and psychiatrist) in a properly formatted prescription letter. Some aircrews and property managers may accept a completed verification form from a family doctor. However, the letter should insist the beneath
Several studies have examined the effects of dog ownership on people's physical and mental health. Dog ownership produces considerable health benefit and provides social support that encourages dog owners to walk (Cutt et al.2007 ). Pet owners appear to have lower systolic blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels(Anderson et al 1992). Pet owners with serious mental illness living in the community demonstrate higher social community integration(Zimalog and Krupa 2009). Socially excluded participants who performed in the presence of a dog report higher mental well-being compared with socially excluded participants who did not work in the presence of a dog (Nilüfer et al 2012). Although there is evidence suggesting that dog ownership can improve people's physical and mental health, there is little research documenting the psychological and behavioral effects of dog-assisted therapy, especially on elderly patients with dementia, who have dif...
Most people are familiar with service dogs and have seen them in action. Animal-assisted therapy is similar service animals in that an animal-human healing partnership is being created. However, the difference is that therapy pets are typically used to treat a mental disability whereas people with physical disabilities use service dogs to help them in many ways. Therapy animals are used in a wide variety of places, such as, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, therapy sessions, mental healthcare facilities, and even in people’s homes. These amazing animals are used on a wide variety of different disorders, but they are utilized mostly by people suffering from depression, anxiety, and PTSD. For people with these mental health disorders, everything in live can be difficult and challenging, however with the help of animal-assisted therapy, their mood, motivation, and life can dramatically improve. Anyone who hears about these brave, loving animals soon falls in love with them. From a medical standpoint, there have been many successful studies and the support for animal-assisted therapy still continues to grow in doctors and therapists across the nation.
Thesis Statement: While most owners are aware of the amount of joy and laughter dogs bring to them and their family, they are unaware that their dogs love them unconditionally and can help them have better lives
Research has been done in the area of human-animal companionship and security, and stress management. Due to the relative newness of this field and the difficulties in studying it, most research has been concentrated on the elderly, specifically, institutionalized elderly. Pets have been introduced into these settings in order to minimize the negative consequences of institutionalization. Most research has been conducted on the extreme ends of the continuum, either very brief visitation or therapy of resident pets studies (Wrinkler 216).
Animal-assisted therapy is often confused with service dog; it is two completely different type of usage of animals, which usually are dogs. It is commonly misunderstood because animal-assisted therapy and service dog are working animals with individuals with disability although according to (Hart-Cohen, 2009) service dogs is when an individual with disability is in need of help in order to function in daily life such as answering the door, crossing the street and the list goes on. While animal-assisted therapy animals are trained to offer comfort companionship, and affection to those in need in different situations such as courtrooms, nursing homes, schools, hospitals, and other places (Hart-Cohen, 2009). The point of animal-assisted therapy is to be available in specific situations to offer comfort to individuals. In order to become an assisted animal, the animal must undergo training, to receive a certified to prove that the animal is qualified to be able to control his or her behavior and is able to work with an...
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...
Kline is a student at college. After grueling classes, study meetings and doing assignments in library for several hours every day, she feels elated when she enters her dorm room. Apart from the obvious reason that she gets to take some well-deserved rest, another reason contributing to her happiness is her pet dog, who is sharing her room. According to Kline, her dog makes her happy and much relaxed when she is stressed (Crowe). It has not been a recent concept to keep pets with you while you are in college but it is certainly gaining a lot of popularity. Students bring a part of their home to their hostel rooms. This keeps them happy and stress free. According to a study in 2008 which was carried out by psychology department of Ohio State
Owning a pet can have many physical and mental health benefits. Medical studies show having a pet result's in lower blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglyceride levels. Pets have a role in cardiovascular health from lowering blood pressure, and they encourage psychosocial stability in owners, which further reduces the risk of heart disease. In the hectic and fast-paced world we live in today, pets are actually saving our lives. Pets provide an excuse to be active, dogs live an active lifestyle, wanting to play and run around outside. By making us more active and improving our health, dogs often provide a good workout! Instead of sitting on the couch being lazy, dogs are eager to transfer their energy and enthusiasm to the owner benefiting both dog and owner in many ways. Studies show that dogs demonstrate trust and provide comfort to the sick or elderly thus helping people to live longer and to be more positive as they age. Animal owners over 75 years of age have f...
There are many reasons to get a pet. You could choose to get a pet for a companion, or simply to add to your family. Many older folk choose to get a pet after they retire or lose their spouse so they do not feel lonely. Many young couples choose to get a pet before they opt to have children, and many families add a pet to their home for their children. The question is though, what type of pet to get? Do you get a cat, or a dog? Having a dog as a pet over a cat is much more enjoyable and beneficial to your life, specifically because of their behavior, convenience, and loyalty.