5 Reasons Why Everyone Should Own a Pet During Their Lifetime

With the amount of domesticated animals that there are in the world, even if you don’t like dogs or cats, you can still successfully own a pet. About 63% of people do own pets in America and do a great job taking care of them. If you don’t own a pet because you are afraid that you won’t be able to facilitate the pet care then all you have to do is get a lower maintenance animal. There really is something for everyone out there. Here are some reasons why everyone should own at least one pet in their life time.

To Think Outside Yourself
If you have no children or significant other, it can be easy to get wrapped up in your own life where you only take care of yourself and don’t really care about anyone else or their problems. Empathizing becomes difficult and you end up secluding yourself in your home. This is not healthy for humans as they need the social and emotional interactions with other humans. Having a pet will force you to take care of another living being and get you out of your own head. Something about having something depending on you to live changes a person’s perspective.

To Provide Companionship
Pets, especially dogs, will always be happy to see you and will love you unconditionally. This is a great feeling to come home to every day and can really lift your spirits. Having a pet allows you have someone to do something with at all times. If you want to go for a run, you can bring your pet or even out to run errands, bring your pet. They will love going along for the ride and keeping you company. It will be mutually beneficial for both parties to get along so well.

To Make You Happy
Having pets really does make a person happy. Studies have shown that the hormones that are responsible for making a person feel joy increase when there is a pet at home. This is more of a subconscious occurrence than an tangible emotion but it is real and it is there. Pets make people happy, that’s all there is to it. They give meaning to life and joy to the world because of their love and affection that doesn’t waver depending on how you act like with humans. They’ll always be there for you. They’ll remain loyal as long as you feed them.

To Protect You
This only applies to certain kinds of pets. A lizard or a fish is not going to do a great job of protecting you should an intruder come into your house or someone approach you on the street but a good dog will protect you with all his might. If you are getting a pet purely for protection then there are a few different types of breeds that you could look into. You’d definitely want something big so that they look intimidating. Having a toy poodle isn’t going to get your very far but not many people would mess with someone walking a German shepherd.

To Entertain You
This could actually go either way. We can be quite entertaining to our pets as well. However, as the humans, we like to think that they’re there to entertain us. Sure, whatever makes us happy. Teaching pets to play catch or roll over and fetch is great fun for both parties and also is a great bonding experience. Animals have their own little personalities and are really quite hilarious after you get to know them and their little quirks. It’s amazing how different they all can be, just like humans.

If you really don’t want to own a pet yourself you could always volunteer at an emergency vet hospital or animal hospital or shelter a few days a week in order to get that animal interaction, taking care of someone who needs you. However, it’s such a great experience to actually own a pet and to responsible for them all the time. It’s a nice feeling to have someone or something relying on you all the time, it makes you feel needed and wanted. No one can deny that that is a great feeling.