The collaboration between humans and animals has existed since the beginning of humanity. The cavemen threw out excess scraps that they did not desire and the wolves devoured them. Overtime, the relationship between man and wolf blossomed and this caused the wolves to be more docile and subservient towards humans. This allowed humans to domesticate the wolves and establish a partnership that will last for millenniums to come. Whether it is domesticating wolves in the forest or adopting a pet at the local pet shelter, the partnership never cease to exist. Pets give people –especially children— numerous benefits; however, do we know what these benefits are? People have to understand these assets and use them to their full potential. There are countless benefits to owning a pet that outweighs the negative effects for children in America. By giving children optimal physical health, therapeutic benefits, and teaching children life skills, pets can make a positive impact in a child’s life.
One of the perks of owning a pet is that it provides children with optimal physical health. Studies dictate children who are exposed to animals when they are young are 60% less likely to develop allergies (McCartney). Most humans are burdened to live their lives with allergies, which can take a heavy toll on them; however, if humans are able to develop immunities early on in their lives, they would not have to persevere and struggle with allergies. With no allergies, children become more physically active and stay in shape (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Obesity is a steadily growing problem that the world is facing today. With today’s lethargic lifestyle, children have been receiving less and less exercise, causing them to be out of ...
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...s a professional in her field and she wrote the article for the New York Times.
Robinson, L., and J. Segal. N.p.. Web. 21 Nov 2013.
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What I took from this site is how pets teach children about time management and the consequences of having a pet is. They are credible because they cited their source and they are a legitimate organization.
RSPCA. N.p.. Web. 21 Nov 2013. of-pet-ownership_408.html>. What I took from this site is how pets teach people skills. It is credible because they are a well-known organization.
Tse, Iris. ownership-110209.html> What I took from this site is how pets can help with therapy. She is credible because she cited her sources and her sources are highly recognized.
First Friend: A History of Dogs and Humans, by Katherine Rogers, articulates the history of the relationship between dogs and humans. Wild Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, by Marc Bekoff and Jessica Pierce, investigates if and how dogs exhibit morality. In both texts, anecdotes and observations are used to portray instances of dogs displaying cooperation, empathy, altruism, and, by extension, morality. Consequently, it stands to reason that dogs have a capacity for sociality, but how can the sociality of dogs be described? A dog’s capacity for sociality is the ability to form long term relationships with members of the same or other species. Dogs, in particular, dogs who hunt as well as dogs who play, are able to form long term relationships with humans and other dogs through trust, love,
Faye is fighting to re-home animals that have been abandoned and abused. Since 2012 she has re-homed more than 60 dogs, and about 20 kittens. Faye says, “I would do anything no matter what to save one animal.” It’s as if her whole entire life revolves around saving animals. Faye thinks just by adopting an animal you can help animal abandonment. Also, Faye has her own book on why animal abandonment isn’t good. Although Faye thinks her job is stressful, she thinks it’s easy because she enjoys doing her job and helping animals find a home.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/alzheimers/how-animal-therapy-helps-dementia-patient s.asp Zimolag, Ulrike and Terry Krupa. “Pet Ownership as a Meaningful Community Occupation for People with Serious Mental Illness.” American Journal of Occupational Therapy 63.2
In 1961, Dr. Boris Levinson, a child psychologist, became the “accidental” pioneer for animal therapy. One day he left his dog, Jingles, alone with one of his young, uncommunicative patients. When Dr. Levinson came back, the child was smiling and talking to the dog (Altschiller 3). This just shows how quick and monumental the effect of an animal can be. He believed that therapy animals provided, “unconditional acceptance and love” and they offered “a secure and warm environment for children and other patients, increasing their ability to adapt better psychologically to other people”...
Many of you have been to the pet store in your local malls, and strolled around while looking at the different breeds of puppies in the small cages. Some may be sleeping, some may be biting the other puppy they’re living with and others may be in the corner frightened. Everyone has seen the depressing commercial, showing pictures of sad looking animals, asking for donations, with the Sarah McLachlan song playing in the background. Many of those puppies come from puppy mills. Defined by ASPCA, which stands for The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation that places profit over the well being of its dogs—who are often severely neglected—and acts without regard to responsible breeding practices. We need to stop buying puppies from commercial pet stores and online puppy scams, and we need to start adopting them from responsible breeders, rescue organizations, and shelters or pounds. Caroline Earle White, a leader in preventing the cruelty to animals, was a huge part in opening the first animal shelter, and was a big believer in treating animals well. (Beers 9) When you adopt from shelters or rescue organizations, you are saving a puppy from a life full of malnourishment, lack of love, and exposure to numerous diseases, giving it a home and no longer fueling the puppy mill industry.
The lack of awareness programs attributes to animal hoarding greatly. The Robinson Rescue is an organization that “educate[s] pet owners about the importance of spay/neuter as a means of ending pet overpopulation.” ( ). This organization shows children how they should think of animals so that they do not abuse their animals like a case in which the defendants argued “that pets are classified as personal property…” and that they have feelings too (Donaghey 2011) (Gunnarson). Few people realize that 354 animals are eutha...
In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 7.6 million companion pets enter animal shelters across the United States each year, nearly evenly disrupted between dogs and cats . These animals are abandoned for reasons including families no longer being able to care for them (sickness/death of an owner), to families not wanting them (the novelty wearing of the animal wearing off), to the animals being born into puppy mills to finally animals that are loved being lost from their owners. These animals do not understand what is happening to them and rely on the kindness of humans to provide for them in shelters until their forever home can be found.
This site gives a lot of pertinent information that pertains to local and national happenings as far as pet overpopulation goes. They have researched many sites and brought the info into their own.
Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT), which can be provided in a group or individual settings, is designed to promote improvement in a human’s physical, social, emotional, or cognitive function. An article by Chitic, Rusu, and Szamoskozi (2012) provides an analysis in order to determine the value of AAT. Both dogs and horses that were trained for AAT were examined and studied to determine their effectiveness in treating patients with psychological disorders. The results showed that both therapy dogs and horses were valuable aids to the therapeutic process. The analysis suggests that proper training and repeated sessions were necessary for proper treatment of patients. In addition, certain disorders may benefit more than others in regards to AAT. For example, a child with ADHD may not benefit from a therapy dog’s presence, for it may worsen the hyperactive symptoms. On the other hand, a patient with depression may benefit greatly from the same animal (Chitic, Rusu, Szamoskozi, 2012). These findings are a perfect starting point to answering the research question: Do patients who engage in AAT display a betterment in their overall emotional well-being, as well as show improvement in their interpersonal interactions...
“A dog is a man’s best friend” goes much deeper than the phrase might initially imply. Recently many medical journals have begun to identify with the many and varied benefits of pet ownership. Men have always relied upon animals for work, transportation, and survival. As times have changed, man has begun to appreciate a different bond with animals. Gone are the days of animals running free outside around the homestead, for now animals are allowed inside and are considered by many to be an integral part of our daily lives! Medical studies have found that animals have a much greater intelligence level than originally thought. Through proper training and experience, animals are not only household pets, but also are becoming an accepted form of medical treatment.
"Pet Overpopulation : The Humane Society of the United States." RSS. The Humane Society of
It is a sad truth that many animals in the United States are without homes. In fact, four million cats and dogs are put down in animal shelters annually (“Pet Overpopulation”). However, there is one organization trying to change this statistic. The Progressive Animal Welfare Society is focused on giving animals a home, as well as educating the public about animal care.
Pets are all over the world, and a part of many people's everyday lives. After seeing my grandmas dog close to death about a week ago, it reminded me of how impacted I was when I lost a pet in the past. That’s when I realized that pets leave a very impactful mark on other people's lives. Then, I remembered not everyone has had pets in their lives due to various reasons like allergies and seeing them as dangerous. This led me to my research question; Should kids have pets in their lives? Weighing the options, I can see both sides to the question at hand. I was a child who grew up with pets by my side, but I also had been greatly harmed by one. When I was just a preschooler, I was critically bit by my own dog in the face, just inches away from a fatal vein in my neck. I still have the scar to this day, yet I still surround myself with animals everyday.
way the child and the pet are in a better environment; but also so that the child learns that