The first pets owned by humans were domesticated around thirty thousand years ago. The animals that were domesticated first were dogs. They were used as guards and helped in hunting. As time went on and humans and dogs spent more time together. They both began evolving and changing. Humans changed from their nomadic lifestyle to agricultural, and then modernized to cities and suburbia homes. Dogs changed too. They changed from looking more like wolves into what we think of as a dog today.
Humans also domesticated cats around ten thousand years ago at that point people were already into agriculture and would have surpluses of food that rodents would eat. Cats were good at pest control, so they were perfect for humans. Cut forward to today in the United States around sixty five million households own a dog and around forty five million own cats. But our modern life is not like the lives of our ancestors who first domesticated these animals.
This contradicts why people domesticated animals in the first place and as for cats most people don’t usually get them for pest control any more. As far as dogs go, most people get dogs for protection, but for most people that’s just an added bonus. So why do people get pets nowadays if they are not as useful to us in those regards? It’s because they are good companions and help people cope with stress. One study found that petting a cat or dog for ten minutes decreased the amount of cortisol (which is a stress hormone) in their body.
Some of the biggest mental health problems nowadays like loneliness and anxiety can be helped by having a pet in your life. People who own dogs are less likely to develop heart disease in their lives. Dogs in particular are really good at reading people’s emotions despite the fact they don’t understand what we are saying. Studies also show dogs like being around their owners and if you have ever had a dog you probably already know this just based on how they greet you after you get home.
Cats also care for their humans and can sense when they are upset but, despite science proving otherwise, most people say dogs are more caring for their owners. Whether or not our pets even care about us at all though doesn’t change the fact that owning pets can really help with someone’s mental health. Research shows that spending time with your pet can reduce stress even more than some other recreational activities. The reason pets are so good at helping with our mental health is because they provide non-judgmental interactions and can genuinely feel like they are your friends or family.
