Many people anecdotally have experienced feeling the support that comes from seeing a pet after a long day, and the positive mental health benefit of a pet seems to be a near-universal experience.
A 2024 poll conducted by Morning Consult for the American Psychiatric Association and the American Veterinary Medical Association found that a majority of people polled felt that their pets benefitted their emotional health.
“It’s easy to overlook the role of pets when we’re talking about mental health," said APA president Petros Levounis in a release, "it’s easy to overlook the role of pets when we’re talking about mental health, but for people who do enjoy the company of animals, they can be a source of companionship, comfort, love, and friendship. I routinely encourage adoption of a pet to my patients who struggle with addiction to alcohol, drugs, or technology. We’re also starting to see more and more research around the role that animals can play in recovery from depression and other psychiatric disorders.”
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PETS CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON HUMAN HEALTH
Zoetis, an animal health company created HABRI, a nonprofit research institute that is one of the places attempting to gather and fund scientific research demonstrating the positive health impacts of companion animals. In their Pet Effect ad campaign, they spread awareness about the physical and mental health benefits of companion animals.
The American Heart Association published research in 2013 indicating pets can reduce stress, boost mood, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and encourage people to be more active. A literature review from the National Alliance on Mental Illness found pet ownership can reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness.
Andrea Traylor, a public health lecturer at the University of North Texas has found this to be true. She is currently working to train labrador retriever Phineas to become a therapy dog after several years of volunteering with service dog organizations. She said the human-animal bond feels intuitive.
“Most people that have dogs will tell you that it just makes their lives,” Traylor said. However, she explained that an emerging body of empirical research could benefit her field. “I think that they provide things that we just don't see.”
In her work with training service dogs, she said she has seen incredible benefits first-hand, "It's just amazing to see what the dogs can do and how they can help out not just an individual but the entire family.”
PETS BENEFIT FROM HUMAN CONNECTIONS TOO
Research also finds animals experience benefits from the human-animal bond. Anastasia Stellato is a researcher at the Human-Animal Interaction lab at Texas Tech University. Her work explores how to improve animal welfare by measuring and observing animals to gauge how they are feeling.
“So really, our research speaks to the relationship that we have with our animals,” Stellato said. “So it's applicable, whether it's in a home environment, in a shelter environment, or even in veterinary clinic settings, we realized that our relationship with our animals, we'd directly influence their welfare through that relationship.”
When it comes to shelter animals, her team’s research found spending time with a shelter pet can help them feel safe even if it is a small experience. This means even people who aren’t able to adopt an animal can reap the emotional benefits of interacting with an animal, and help it feel safe in the process.
“I think it would be great for people to recognize the significance they have even if it's a passive interaction, especially in shelter environments,” Stellato said, explaining human presence can help shelter animals reduce stress. “Whether it be just taking them for walks or even just sitting there, either inside or outside of the kennel, and just giving them treats and just kind of passively being there, because we really make a big difference.”
