“Does Your Child Have FUR?…”

 

 

Believe it or not this is very popular among pet lovers. Yep for most of us our children are our pets. Especially for empty nesters whose children have grown up and left home, our elderly community who have therapy pets, or people who don’t have any human children of their like me.

Trust me you are not alone if you consider your pets as your fur babies, our community is strong, thriving and growing. We are proud to boast & show most of the pictures we have on our phones are of our pets. We celebrate their birthdays with gifts and parties, they are included in every holiday, go on vacations with us, they have free range of the house, sleep in our beds, have insurance and are involved in every area of our lives.

So if you have ever have been put down or felt weird or odd that your pet is your baby DON’T it’s far more popular than most people realize. Think about it….

Not everyone wants kids and there are some that can’t have children. Pets are more than happy to fill that space in your heart and they will never get sick of you or want to leave you, pets don’t abandon people. They don’t care what you like, what sex you are, if you’re straight or gay, religious or not, where you live, or how much money you make.

All they want is to be LOVED & cared for. They are loyal, loving, fun and overall improve your emotional, mental and physical health. The only time a pet has broken my heart is when they leave and go to the rainbow bridge… I hate that part.

Have you ever noticed that you feel better when you’re around your pet?

It’s true. Spending quality time with a dog, cat or other animal can have a positive impact on your mood and your health. Pets can be calming stress-fighters.

“We found that pet owners, on average, were better off than non-owners, especially when they have a higher-quality relationship with their pets,” says pet researcher Allen R. McConnell, PhD. He’s a professor of psychology at Miami University. “What [makes] a meaningful relationship varies from person to person.”

For some active people, that includes playing ball or Frisbee in the park. For others who can’t get outside, just petting your dog or cat can help you feel connected.

Pets can help you in other ways, too.

1. A healthier heart. Your pets may make you less likely to get heart disease. Why? pet owners walk & move more and have lower blood pressure than people who don’t have pets.

Pets can also be good for you if you already have heart problems.

2. Stress Soothers Petting your cat or dog feels good. It can lower your blood pressure, helps your body release a relaxation hormone, and cuts down on levels of a stress hormone. It also soothes your pet, says Alan Beck, ScD, director of the Center for the Human-Animal Bond at Purdue University.

3. Social Magnets Pets, especially dogs, can help you connect with other people. “If I saw you walking down the street, I couldn’t comfortably start talking to you if I didn’t know you, but I could if you had a dog,” Beck says. “It’s an acceptable interaction that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.”

People who use wheelchairs say that other people make eye contact with them more often and ask if they can be of help when they’re with their dogs, Beck says.

4. Better Mood, more meaning in your life. People with pets are generally happier, more trusting, and less lonely than those who don’t have pets. They also visit the doctor less often for minor problems.

One reason for that may be that your pet gives you a sense of belonging and meaning, McConnell says. “You feel like you have greater control of your life.”

Look at these further proven statistics concerning pets

One of the more entertaining theories right now that’s been proven is that Millennials have very different values than older generations, particularly concerning pet ownership. Some say Millennials are crazy to choose pets over babies, Millennials are smart to to choose pets over babies, Millennials are weird to choose pets over people. Rest assured it’s not just 20-something women (yours truly is included in this). Millennials are opting for pets not parenthood. 

Also studies show that there was no “recession” in pet spending, as the figure above indicates. Even as Americans’ incomes suffered, pet spending rose, causing its share of income to jump markedly. This, despite the total number of pets probably declining, which suggests that spending-per-pet did indeed jump.

We can also see the growth of previously-non-essential categories of pet spending in the limited time-series-data provided by APPA. They provide data of the share of dogs and cats covered by pet insurance, as shown below.

The share of dogs and cats covered by insurance is rising. This suggests both that pet owners increasingly see their pets as valuable and hard to replace, suggesting they make substantial monetary investments in them, but also is itself a rising cost factor: insurance money is “new spending.” APPA also reports that the share of pet owners who spend money on parties for their pets, electronic tracking of pets, or pet-calming devices is rising too.

But, hold on, the APPA’s been surveying this issue for a long time, since 1988, and they find that pet ownership in 1988 was about 56%, compared to 68% today: that is not a particularly rapid increase for a 30-year period. Is this really a seismic shock in pet ownership, or is the main factor changing social norms about how much people should spend on pets? Given extant data, it’s hard to say. But whether it’s higher per-pet spending, or more pets, the conclusion that pets are consuming a larger share of American earnings seems clear.

Studies also show that singles may also see their pets differently than families do. Singles often see pets as “family members,” while many family-owners are more likely to see pets as property. But while “pet-parents” may rhetorically describe their pets as “children,” the correspondent decline in both single-person fertility and marriage among young people suggests that pets may be replacing two different family members.

For some owners, pets replace kids. But for many, the companionship provided by a pet replaces spouses. Pets are often described as providing companionship, emotional support, security, or a sense of “home” or rootedness for “pet-parents”: but these aren’t traits that describe a child. These are traits that describe a husband or a wife. With my generation postponing the commitment of marriage due to any number of other reasons, the need for a reliable companion who is committed to stay until death do it part may simply be transferred onto pets rather than people.

I guess i’s safe to say we spend our money on the ones you find most valuable. Of course this makes my heart smile because I feel our pets are worth every cent. My true desire is to one day witness no homeless pet and that everyone will view them as beings worthy of respect and love. I’m realistic and don’t expect everyone to feel & think like I do in this world, but if you don’t love them just for GOD’S sake don’t hurt them.

Until next time REMEMBER PETS RULE!