Happy Love Your Pet Day! Today is all about celebrating your pets and giving them some extra attention and care. From the typical pets everyone thinks of like dogs and cats to fish, pigs, or even hedgehogs, pet ownership encompasses a wide variety of species. Pet ownership also greatly enriches your life and gives you a variety of benefits that you might not have been aware of before.
For example, ever notice how your pet just seems to know if you’ve had a bad day? Particularly if you own a more “cuddly” pet, such as a cat or dog. But even less cuddly pets can improve your daily outlook and brighten your day in a multitude of ways. Read on for some more ways your pet can improve your life.
Love Your Pet? Here Are Some Benefits of Pet Ownership That Will Make You Love Them Even More
Lower stress. Having a companion from the animal kingdom to come home to at the end of the day has been proven to lower stress levels. Petting or playing with an animal decreases levels of cortisol in the body. Cortisol is known as the “stress hormone” and increased levels can lead to a number of undesirable consequences, such as impaired memory and learning, lower immune function, weight gain and risk of depression. And petting or playing with a pet actually increases levels of oxytocin, which is known as the “love hormone.” This is the hormone that is known to promote feelings of trust and empathy, as well as mother-infant bonding. Oxytocin also helps to combat depression. It’s amazing to think that just by simply interacting with your pet you could do so much good for yourself too!
Helps combat loneliness. By providing companionship, your pet helps you to feel like you aren’t all alone in this world, particularly if you live all alone. One of the hardest parts of aging is dealing with feelings of isolation and less social interactions. Older adults who report feelings of loneliness are at risk for a number of undesirable factors, including early mortality. This study from PubMed shows pet owners were 36% less likely than non-pet owners to report feelings of loneliness.
Helps with anxiety and depression. It would make sense that if owning a pet lowers your stress levels and helps to combat loneliness, then it would also help with anxiety and depression. Pets provide soothing company and unconditional love–what could be better? Even something as simple as watching a fish swim around in a tank has a calming effect on the mind.
Helps with responsibility. If you have to take care of another living being besides yourself, it creates a sense of purpose in your life. You know your pet is relying on you to keep them alive. Having more responsibility in one’s daily routine has been proven to promote mental health by boosting self-esteem, self-worth, and instilling a sense of importance and value. Not to mention feeding a pet needs to happen on a regular schedule, so it helps you by keeping your schedule consistent as well.
What will you do to return all the blessings your pet bestows upon you? On Love Your Pet day, make sure to try to do something nice for your animal–spend some extra time with them, pet them a little extra, or buy them a special treat or toy.
The Pets of Effective Coverage
We here at Effective Coverage love animals of all different kinds. We love our pets so much, we wanted to take a moment to introduce them to the world. So here are the little helpers who brighten our mood and relieve our stress after a long day–the Effective Coverage pets!
Louie is our resident office dog here at Effective Coverage. When he visits us here at the office, he often likes to beg for food–or steal it when no one’s looking!
Bacon is a Vietnamese potbelly pig who loves popcorn–maybe a little bit too much. One year Bacon took down a Christmas tree single-handedly because it had a popcorn string on it…
Tex, Niles, and Lulu are all rescue pups and best of friends! These three sweethearts enjoy playing together as a group and get along effortlessly.
Pandora the cat likes to watch South Park and play fetch with hair elastics.
JoJo is a Goldendoodle and loves playing in the snow and chasing her shadow. Look at that smile!
Meet “Get out of my chair, Bud” aka Splash.
Some animals have only 2 legs and walk upright. Oh, and fish are soothing too!
Max the black lab enjoys claiming sectionals and chaise lounges as his own.
Muffintop the cat is debating if Horace Weathersby the hedgehog would make a better buddy or snack.
What will you do to show your pet your undying love and devotion today? Snap a pic and introduce us to your pet on our social media channels; Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. And as always, if you need any help with your insurance matters, just call (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!
Effective Coverage offers the nation's only completely mobile platform to quote and purchase renters insurance right from your phone or tablet in just one minute. Get an online renters insurance quote today and protect your family. Whether they have fins, fur, four legs or just two.