In search of ponies: Study shows pets to plenty for health

Pets do a lot for us humans — they enrich our lives, provide companionship and are scientifically proven to improve health.

More than that, however, for many pet owners, the critters become close friends in a sense.

They are happy to see their people, love to be around for whatever their humans are doing, make great couch buddies, bring on the laughs, love to goof around and are great listeners when a sympathetic ear is needed — all trademarks of a great friend.

link Sharna Johnson

For some, that relationship alone is a life-changer, helping to dissolve loneliness and solitude and give purpose to the daily grind.

Even the best pet friendships can be a little one-sided, however, and having human friends is important too — but making new friends isn’t always easy.

As luck would have it, meeting new people and developing lasting friendships is yet another of the great perks pets bring to their people.

Part of the growing body of research evaluating the role pets play in the lives of humans, in an April study, Australian researchers looked to see what, if any, impact pets had on the social lives of their owners.

Residents in four cities — Perth, Australia, Nashville, Portland and San Diego – responded to a telephone survey, which looked at the ways in which their relationships with their pets connected them to other people.

What researchers found was that not only do the critters offer companionship themselves; they are a significant factor in helping humans connect with other humans and they increase their owners' socialization, particularly in the neighborhoods where they live.

Of the more than 2,000 people who participated in the study, the majority reported that through their pet, they had gotten to know people in their neighborhood that they didn’t know previously and more people met others through their pets than through their children’s schools.

With dogs leading the way as the most common type of pet owned, the study showed that those who walked their dogs were more likely to meet people than those who didn’t.

Dog owners reported their dogs have a tendency to approach people or attract strangers who want to pet them, which often breaks the ice and starts conversations with people they otherwise wouldn’t talk to.

Cats too, however, got credit for starting conversations with neighbors who had seen them sitting on porches or in windows, and one Australian woman said her cat steals the neighbor’s socks and she returns them, which makes for lots of laughs and is a “good way to get to know people.”

Another woman said when neighborhood children have asked to see her pet snake, she tells them they need their parent’s permission, which results in her meeting her neighbors.

It goes beyond just meeting people however, and more than 40 percent of those surveyed said their pets have opened up communication that eventually led to neighborly assistance such as house watching or collecting the mail, and many said their pets had facilitated friendships which in some cases have lasted for years.

For researchers, the results confirmed that pets make their owners seem more approachable and help to normalize or soften the reservations and anxieties people sometimes have about talking to others. Beyond breaking the ice, however, pets bring people together who share a love of animals, often results in lasting friendships, the study concluded.

Though social creatures by nature, as humans are increasingly isolated by technology and the hectic pace of modern life, ironically, one of the greatest talents pets seem to have and one of their most important gifts to us might just be their ability to make people more human.

Sharna Johnson is a writer who is always searching for ponies. You can reach her at:

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