LIFESTYLE & MORE
TRENDING
AACL – Animal Anti-Cruelty League
We’re excited and honoured to feature South Africa’s second largest independent animal welfare organisation on PetlifeSA.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PETS IN OUR LIVES
Pets are part of our everyday lives and play a key role in human health and recovery.
Pets are loyal and loving and most pet owners know how wonderful owning a pet can be, the love and joy they bring into our lives, and the beautiful bonds than can be formed between human and animal.THE ADVANTAGES OF PETS ARE ENDLESS:
- Pets provide companionship
- Pets provide emotional support
- Pets help reduce stress levels
- Pets help reduce feeling of isolation and loneliness
- Pets help increase social activities
- Pets add to children’s self-esteem
- Pets add to children’s positive emotional development
- Stroking a pet can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol
- Pets help us connect with nature
- Pets teach unconditional love
- Pets teach loyalty
- Certain dog breeds offer physical support
- Pets give a sense of purpose
- Pets have a calming effect on humans
- Pets are wonderful for our mental health
- Pets can boost your mood
- Dogs can be trained to detect seizures
- Pets can be used in occupational therapy
- Pets can be used in speech therapy
- Pets can be used in physical rehabilitation
- Pets have a significant impact on allergies and asthma
- Pets lessen behavioural distress in children
- Pet ownership among elderly is an important source of social support and enhances performance abilities
- Children with dogs or cats in their home during their first year of life are less likely to develop allergies in childhood
- Pets help children develop greater empathy, higher self-esteem and increased participation in social and physical activities
- Researchers use pets to temporarily provide companionship to children with health or mental health problems
- Pets can increase focus and interaction among children with autism and other developmental disorders
- Visiting dogs in nursing home settings lead to more social behaviours, interaction among residents and less loneliness
- Pets provide safety and protection
- Search and rescue canines save lives
- Guide dogs assist the blind
- Therapy dogs provide affection, comfort and support to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, school libraries, hospices or disaster areas
- Pets help inmates adjust to a conflict-free life outside of prison
- Pets reduce the fear of their owner in threatening situations
- Dogs warn those in danger of diabetic or epileptic fits
- Dogs’ extra sense of smell can pick out plants and animals for further research and conservation
- Dogs have been used for sniffing out drugs and bombs in special K-9 units of police and other services
- Pets are a source of inspiration
If you seek a companion animal in your life, consider adoption. Adoption not only offers a pet a forever home, but also relieves animal shelters, minimizes the online trade of animals and counters disreputable breeding of animals.
Pets are our soulmates, helpers and friends. They do not ask for much and in return they open up our world, offering unconditional love, always waiting patiently with a wagging tail or a gentle purr.
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened” – Anatole France.
