New research from Germany indicates that adults who grew up around animals were better able to handle stress than those who didn’t grow up around animals. What’s more, those who had pets as a child were found to be more empathetic, more prone to choose helping professions, were more oriented towards socials values, and got less depressed than those who had no pets as a child.
Animals play an important role in many people’s lives. In addition to seeing-eye dogs and dogs that can be trained to detect seizures, animals can also be used in occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy to help people recover from injury or illness. Animals are also valued as beloved companions. They are God’s gift to us. The better we understand the human-animal bond, the more we can use it to improve people’s lives.
