Whether you are a dog person or a cat person, we can all agree that pets, in general, are great companions and best friends. Pets are universal. Big or small, having that animalistic companion can be so enjoyable to have with you. Pets can be beneficial to your safety, physical and mental health, and the animal’s overall health.

Animals have excellent senses when it comes to people, moods, and intuition. There is a reason German shepherds are such great police dogs. However, bloodhounds, Boxers, Dobermans, and more can all do police work. Something you may not have known is that cats and rabbits have been welcomed into the police stations. 

Dolphins, not to say they are pets, are another animal that has been known to protect humans from sharks. Animals are proven to be protective, especially when it comes to their owners or people. If you lived on your own, as most college students do, then a pet like a dog would be a good idea for extra protection.

Not only can pets protect you, but they can also increase your overall health. Active pets require outside time to walk, run, or play. The owner can also get exercise while taking care of their pet. This can also get the owner outside instead of being cooped up. However, if going outside isn’t your thing, there are plenty of pets that don’t require going outside; hamsters, fish, guinea pigs, reptiles, and even cats can be completely indoors. In addition to being beneficial to one’s physical health, pets can also help alleviate various mental illnesses. According to  https://www.psychreg.org, owning a pet can decrease stress, decrease loneliness, help us set routines, and help with human interaction. It’s proven to have pets balance our cortisol and oxytocin levels by lowering our cortisol levels and raising our oxytocin levels. Cortisol is our main dress hormone, so lowering it lowers our stress and anxiety levels. Even petting or engaging with animals can lower blood pressure more than talking to a human. Fish have been used primarily for this reason since their environment is so calm and serene to look at. Service animals help humans that might have medical impairments and are literally lifesavers. 

The most universal benefit of having a pet is companionship. Pets are one of the top-rated remedies for someone who lost a loved one through death, divorce, etc. Birds are great companion animals that usually have the lifespan of a human, so they don’t have to go through the loss of an animal too. Pets do all of this for us without even knowing or trying, so it is only fair we take care of them.

Adopting animals can also be saving them. Sometimes animals need our companionship just as much as we need theirs. They are dependent on us for everything, they couldn’t live without us. Adopted animals have been some of the best animals I have ever had. It is like they know you chose them out of all the animals you could have gotten, they seem so grateful and happy to be yours.

There are always a million reasons not to do something and that includes having a pet; potty training, chewing and tearing phases, noisy, high-maintenance, and the list could go on. However, humans can do a lot of things, but they can not fill the place of a pet. They can be so special to us, they know how we are doing and react without hesitation.  Pets love their owners unconditionally, so why not get one?