Man’s best friend is a great thing. Personally, I don’t know what I would do without my dog and cat. They mean the world to me and know more secrets about me than anyone. Honestly, they are my best friends. In the past, I have had many pets, from fish to polar bears (not really, but my dog looks like one) Animals are one of the best companions.  They aren’t like pesky siblings that get on your nerves. They can always put you in a better mood. Not only do they put you in a better mood and offer you friendship, but they are family. I believe that they are a great addition to families. Whether someone is allergic to cats, or dogs, there are many others to choose from!   

Reasons to have pets:

Reduce stress/blood pressure
According to National Center for health research, companion pets offer better heart health by lowering the owners’ blood pressure just by being in the same room. That’s why many people like to just be around animals, or have many pets. People love petting their pets, and that’s actually beneficial to everyone. Animals feel loved, and humans get their blood pressure lowered due to your body releasing a relaxation hormone that reduces the levels of a stress hormone.

Companionship

My animals know all of my secretes and will always be there for me. Pets are great for all ages, young children, people who just moved out on their own, or elderly people who simply need someone to talk to. They are great listeners and you will soon learn they are your best friends.

Helping out the animal species
More people should have pets because as of 2014, there are about 70 million animals that were strays in the US alone. Only 6-8 million cats and dogs go to animal shelters. That’s roughly 62-64 million cats and dogs who are homeless. If a family adopted a pet, that’s one less animal that has to suffer. Well, what happens if animals in the shelter don’t get adopted? Approximately 1.5 million (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats) are euthanized. Think of all the potential best friends that will never get to meet their rightful owner.

Learn responsibility
Don’t get me wrong, animals are great in every way, but they are a LOT of responsibility. You have to make sure they’re in good health, feed them, and give them exercise. You also have to pay attention to them, if you don’t, they might become depressed. Having a pet is like having a child, but quite a bit better.

Leftovers don’t go to waste
Have you ever ate a meal that wasn’t all that great? Sure the trashcan is a good place for the food, but a dog is an even better place for it! Dogs are the most effective, quietest and quickest vacuum ever to be made. I know that when my great-grandmother comes into town, she makes her famous chicken n dumplin’ (ew). Everyone pretends to love it so that way we don’t hurt her feelings, but when it come night time, we feed A LOT of it to our dog. What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her. Normally animals aren’t picky and will eat pretty much anything that isn’t green.

Prevents strokes

Now that humans know pets are very beneficial, we know that pets can prevent strokes. By having a great relationship with your animal, you have less stress. Dogs require walks, and by giving your dog a walk, you are getting some kind of exercise and helping out your health. I think if people get an animal, they are more likely to he healthy. When it’s not winter, my whole family goes on a walk everyday with our dog, sometimes we only go around the block once, and other times we will walk a mile.

Perfect for all ages
I previously talked about this a tad bit, but I would furthermore like to elaborate on what I meant by pets are great for any age. Children love animals, but some are terrified of them. If a family has a pet, children learn that animals are our friends and will do anything to make us happy and protect us. For example, my mom babysits a three-year-old boy named Moses, we call him momo for short. When she first started watching momo, he was so scared of my cat and dog. Day by day we slowly introduced him to the animals and momo learned to love them. Every day he runs in the house looking for Jake, my cat, and talks about how cute he is. I think by having a pet, children learn how to get over their fears better. Having pets are great for people who just moved out to live on their own. dogs will help keep their owners safe so they won’t be as spooked out when they hear a random creak. Not only will pets provide protection, but they will be good listeners to the new stress being experienced. As for older people, the house will be very quiet without any children living, and a pet might completely demolish the unusual silence. Everyone knows, as you get older, you lose certain senses and are able to do a lot less than when you were 25. There are animals made to help people like those, called service animals. I would highly recommend that people who need it get those animals.