Pet-Human Relationships

Background

More than half of the households in the English-speaking world have pets. Currently, more American households have a dog than have a child. In the United States, there are more than 70 million pet dogs and at least 75 million pet cats. Americans spend more than $30 billion annually on their pets, and in national surveys, 90 percent report that their pets are important and cherished members of the family who make them feel calm, happy, and able to handle stress in their lives. Pet owners also emphasize that pets add a much-needed element of nature to their fast-paced and technologically oriented lives. Given that pets require a large investment of time and resources, it is sensible to consider the nature of pet-human relationships and the types of benefits that may result from such relationships.

The idea of animals as significant companions to humans is not new; one of the earliest literary references occurs in Homer's Odyssey, in which the otherwise brutal Cyclops, Polyphemus, expresses warm emotion to his favorite ram. What is more recent, however, is the notion that pets are integral members of the family and society, and that they can contribute favorably to the mental and physical health of humans. Although in 1859, Florence Nightingale noted that pets can be excellent companions for people who are ill, it was not until the 1950s that the first journal articles about pets as adjunctive therapists appeared. Over the following decades, hundreds of additional studies have been done by researchers in the fields of psychology, sociology, medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, ethology, anthropology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In these studies, a wide variety of topics have been addressed, including: human-pet relationships and interaction, pets as social support, pets and human blood pressure, pet loss and human grief and mourning, legislation and pets, pets and chronic illness, pets and children, and pets and people who are elderly. Selected findings of recent research are provided next.

Human-Pet Interaction

The most common role that pet animals fulfill is that of companion and friend. Most pet owners form bonds with their animals that are in many [Page 1235]ways similar to relationships they have with other people. For example, pet owners often spend a great deal of time engaged in activities with their pets, they confide intimate feelings and thoughts to their pets, and they express strong feelings of love and affection to pets. In addition, pet owners express the belief that their feelings of love are reciprocated and that their pets help them solve problems by listening.