When it comes to owning a pet, it’s pretty obvious that the reason most of us become pet parents is to experience the joy and love that pets bring into our lives. But did you know that there are a whole lot more benefits of owning a pet?
The Benefits of Owning a Pet
1. Oxytocin Rush
Oxytocin is also known as the “bonding hormone.” Your brain releases this hormone when you bond with someone, most notably in women during childbirth and breastfeeding, but it’s also present when humans bond with their pets (both in the person and the animal).
In fact, recent studies at Azabu University in Japan suggest that by merely looking at one another, your and your pet’s brains may be giving you both rushes of oxytocin.
Are you looking to adopt your first-ever fur baby? Read this: 3 Essentials for Every New Pet Parent!
2. Pumping Blood
All pets need exercise – even lap dogs. Getting a pet means spending more time outdoors going for walks and runs. Even bathing them and giving them basic training require physical exertion, all of which your heart, and your dog, will thank you for! And if you have a cat, that’s no excuse not to get out there for walks (believe it or not, you can even by cat harnesses and leads)!
3. Immunity Building
It’s important to build the immune systems of our little ones, and one awesome way to help do this is to own a pet. Your furry friend can help your toddlers develop allergy immunities.
4. Illness Detection
Dogs detecting cancer in people has been well documented in recent years, and there are service dogs bred and trained specifically to alert people when their epileptic owners are having a seizure.
Discover: Owning a pet & working full time: 9 things to consider
5. They’ll Amaze you
Although dogs have been companions to people for around 14,000 years, they still find ways each and every day to amaze us. Leaders in the fields of ethology and animal behaviour are only beginning to uncover canines’ abilities.
If you need any proof of just how intelligent dogs can be, have a look at this video of Chaser, a Border collie who knows the names of over a thousand toys and who uses the power of deduction to pick one out he’s never seen or heard of.
What You Can Do to Benefit Your Pet
Of course, with all these benefits of owning a pet, it’s only fair that we give them something back by protecting their health with comprehensive pet insurance (we recommend taking a look at Oneplan Pet Insurance) that will take care of those scary big vet bills we may not see coming. Our pets make our lives so much better, so why not do the same for them?
Read this next: Why Oneplan’s Pet Super Plan is the Top Pet Insurance Plan for Boujee Pets
