I believe everyone should have an animal in their lives. Whether I’ve had a hamster or a horse as a pet, they’ve consistently brought festivity and comfort into my life.
Pets are beneficial to people in several different ways. It has been researched that pets can lower blood pressure, reduce stress, stop depression and even diagnose cancer! With this said, there is still one major reason why I feel we need to love animals, because you can love them and they will always love you back.
I once talked to my friend who was not raised with animals and he asked me how I can truly love my animals. He disagreed with me when I told him that animals love you back, and that you can tell their emotions as much as they can tell ours. I have known my black lab Tessa ever since she was 8 weeks old, and from that time on we have always been “sisters,” as my mom calls us. She is overwhelmed with excitement when I return from school. I can tell when she is sad from the look in her eye and the way she walks. And you know what? She can tell when I am sad too, when I cry, she is right there at my feet, looking into my eyes to somehow make me feel better. It is not the same as a hug from a human but sometimes it works better. It is so remarkable how pets can relate to humans so much but there are still people out there who abuse such creatures who only want to be loved. I believe that we need to be the voice for the animals on this planet who cannot speak for themselves.
In Japan you can find “Cat Cafes”. If people do not have time for a pet or live somewhere not suitable for pets, they can go to one of these cafes to spend time with a cat of their choice for ten dollars an hour. In other places, they even have a program called “Rent a dog” where you can rent a dog and take it on walks on the beach and spend time with it. This is a solution not only for a person that needs to bond with an animal, it benefits the animal as well. People have a need to bond with animals otherwise these programs would be meaningless.
I believe that the human-animal relationship is so important. My mom always says not to get serious about a man until you see how he treats animals. How can he have true compassion for a spouse, his children or the many animals I would surely bring into our marriage, if he doesn’t first start by playing with my dog Tessa when she greets him at the front door?
Though animals have no spoken language, the most sincere connections are made through non verbal communications; the vibration of a contented cat in your lap, the vivacious wag of a puppy’s tail, or an unmistakable look of fear in the whites of a horse’s eyes. With genuinely understanding these, we can discover and learn their natural behaviors. As we respect these roles, we can find out more about ourselves as well.