To consider your dog as having close to human feelings is not usual as Lyn Danninger writes: Depressed dogs and confused cats? Whether it's moving to a new home, a divorce or even a change of diet, pets can experience to a wide range of emotions just like their human companions during stressful times, according to animal communicator, Debra Harrison.
Patricia McConnell ponders "why we are so ambivalent about our companion animals - both attracted to and embarrassed by our love for them. Yes, of course, some of us look pretty foolish treating our dogs like human infants, but the majority of pet owners love their animals for themselves. I don't agree (as some argue) that most of us "use" pets to make up for a gap in our interactions with humans. Rather, our relationship with our pets is unique: they give us things that no human can provide. Close connections between different species are not at all uncommon in the wild and in spite of our obvious differences with other animals, we are not that far apart from the rest of biology (thank heavens). I consider our close relationship with dogs, for example, to be a miracle of evolution and natural selection."
Regardless of HOW you relate to your dog there is legitimate value you can point to that has been proven in the scientific community. Research on the human-pet bond is far from complete, but these four studies suggest major benefits:
* Warwick Anderson at Baker Medical Research Institute in Australia evaluated 5,741 men and women for heart-disease risk factors. The 784 people who owned pets had lower blood pressure, plus lower blood levels of harmful cholesterol and triglycerides.
* James Serpell at Cambridge University in England recruited people who didn't own pets, divided them into groups and gave dogs to one group, cats to another and nothing to the third group. All pet recipients reported their general health improved. Dog owners fared best, because they walked the most.
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