Crazy for pets? It’s just human nature

It’s hard to imagine living without our pets. They’re part of the family. They play with our children; they greet us at the door when we get home; we take them on vacations and run with them on the beach. We mourn when they die.

Newcomers to this country are often astonished to hear that Americans sleep with their pets. Why would anyone do that? (Try telling my cats to keep off the bed. Or even to scoot over and give me some room.)

Not everyone in the world enjoys such an intimate relationship with companion animals. Recently I taught veterinary medicine in Ethiopia, which has tens of thousands of dogs and cats, many of them urban strays. Some of the veterinarians there had never held a dog or cat.

Cultural expression aside, the human-animal bond is ancient and natural. The benefits of this close relationship may be obvious, but the bond runs deep. In fact, it may be built into our very humanity.

Anthropologist Pat Shipman, a Penn State professor, is expanding the definition of human beyond the familiar benchmarks such as problem solving, tool making, and language. In her forthcoming book “The Animal Connection,” Shipman ponders how contact with animals has been a catalyst for civilization itself. Millions of years sharing the planet with other creatures have created adaptive advantages for our species.

Humans are the only creatures that regularly and voluntarily care for other animals. We adopt them and treat them as family. As far as we know, this is a unique human extension of what biologists call alloparenting, tending to someone else’s young. But in this case, imagine that mom and dad were another species. (Your teenagers may be able to explain that concept to you.)

Regardless of how it evolved, the human-animal bond is dynamic, influencing the psychological and physiological states of both parties:

People in contact with animals have lower blood pressure and reduced anxiety. They often seem to be happier and healthier.

Children who care for pets learn to be more nurturing and perhaps better parents to their own children.

Pets are social icebreakers. They stimulate conversation, decrease loneliness, encourage touch and care, focus attention, and nurture social contact. They help us exercise and they make us laugh.

Animals have documented therapeutic value. They brighten spirits in hospitals, hospices, and prisons.

Older people blossom when pets are near. One author found unexpected social effects sparked by animal visitors to senior care homes, including “reminiscing, intimacy, and bonding with the volunteers who had brought the animals. The pets were found to facilitate interaction between people rather than being the main focus of interaction itself.” What’s more touching example of how animals make us human?

Animals console the dying. And when we lose a family member, they help us in our grief.

Say it however you like, but what we’re talking about is love.

Here in San Francisco, the SF SPCA nurtures the animal-human bond in many ways. Among them are a thriving Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) program that sends out dogs, cats, birds, and other small animals with volunteers to visit hospitals, nursing and convalescent homes, senior centers, agencies for developmentally disabled people, and youth facilities.

“We observe depressed, withdrawn patients become increasingly animated, joyful, and engaged during AAT visits,” says Tom Benson, a therapist at Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital. “In the case of patients suffering from psychotic disorders, the AAT visits are a beautiful means of helping the patient reconnect with the reality of here and now through the tactile, kinesthetic, and positive emotional response that occurs when interacting with a safe and friendly animal.”

We celebrate the integration of animals into our lives. Dogs and cats, in fact, outnumber children here.

San Franciscans have made ours the safest major city in America for cats and dogs — the place where they’re least likely to be euthanized for overpopulation. The SF SPCA maintains a decades-long commitment to aggressive spay/neuter policies, pioneered the “no-kill” shelter movement, and has upheld a dedication to saving and improving lives for more than 140 years.

I’m grateful to SFGate for giving me a place to talk about the deep human-animal bond and how it animates our lives and our community. And I’m looking forward to hearing your stories about how animals have made a difference in your lives.

Categories: Human Animal Bond