Pets Are Like Family

Have you ever had a pet? Dog? Cat? Hamster? Rabbit? Doesn’t really matter what the animal is we become very attached to them. Dogs and cats have longer life expectancies so we really become attached. Our pets are part of our family. And we sometimes pamper them more than our children.

Haven’t we all had it happen? We walk into a pet store or shelter and there are those beautiful eyes staring at us. The connection is made – we’re in love. You simply cannot leave without taking puppy or kitty home with you.

And that’s the start of a life together. A life built on friendship, trust, and love. If we only treated other humans with the respect shown to our pets our world would be a better place.

Pets are sensitive too! They learn to know when we are happy and when we are sad. They know when we need that extra cuddle or kiss. They are sometimes more receptive to our feelings then the humans in our lives.

And who hasn’t met a smart pet? Think of all the tricks we teach our dogs. Sit, fetch, stay, down, shake, and….well the list goes on and on. We can teach them to jump tall hurdles or walk patiently by our side. Now cats perhaps they are even smarter because they aren’t controlled by the human’s wishes. They do things on their terms and only on their terms.

Pets are good for your health. That’s why they are so often used in seniors’ homes and with the elderly. Research has shown that people who have suffered a heart attack and have pets live longer. Even watching an aquarium of fish swim slowly around can lower your blood pressure.

Pets are also therapeutic. They’ve been used as companions for a variety of ill patients suffering from cancer, AIDS, diabetes, and metal illness. Animals don’t require complex conversation instead they supply a constant source of comfort and ask for little in return.

Animals also bring out the nurturing instinct in all of us. We worry about their health, try to keep them safe and out of harms way, we make sure they have sweaters and rain coats, we make sure they are dry and comfortable.

A friend once said having a pet dog is like having a 2 year old around the house. So true! But animals give back too! They make us feel safe and protected. They love us unconditionally and never judge us. We can just be ourselves.

People who have pets are less likely to be ill, and those that become ill are likely to get better faster. They are less likely to suffer from depression and they are likely to have a higher self esteem.

So while it seem like all our beloved pets do is sleep, eat, run, and hmmm. The truth is they enhance our lives tremendously.

If you are reading this chances are you’ve already had a dog or cat at some time. If you’ve had a pet before and it’s passed on to pet heaven you can remember how devastating that was. Loosing a pet is as difficult as loosing a family member.

If you are not a pet person that’s okay! But you’ll not understand what pet lovers are talking about unless you’ve experienced the joy and love of a pet.

Yes it’s true the world is going to the cats and dogs. Isn’t it wonderful! These beautiful creatures we call pets truly are family members!

Deon Melchior is the Editor and Publisher of Article Click. For more FREE articles for your ezine and websites visit ArticleClick.com. Article Click is a free content article directory. This means that as a publisher you may reprint the articles that are included in our site, as long as the article is unedited and the author box is included with it's live hyperlinks.