Senior's Pets Are Virtual People

By Raymond Angus

Seniors pets are companions! Our friends! Whether they're
pet dogs or pet cats or any of a thousand other pet animals
we bring into our homes, they share our lives with us as
virtual human beings.

They faithfully stand beside us no matter what the world
throws at us. They reward us with their trust and
affection.

We give them personal names. We dub them Fido, Butch,
Fluffy, Mitzi or any of a myriad other appellations. The
amazing fact is that we create entire personalities around
the names we award them with.

In our minds they are people just like us!

Butch may in fact be just a tiny Yorkshire Terrier dog, but
he's a tough little dude who bullies and bluffs his way
through life. Mitzi is a regal, white Persian cat, who even
though she considers herself a queen, she grants you the
privilege of caring for all of her personal needs.

They get hair all over the furniture and on your best suit
or dress. You find fur balls under the dining room table
just as dinner guests ring the front door bell. At ten
o:clock on a rainy Friday night, Fido scratches at the door
to announce he wants, and needs, to go outside.

Why do we share our lives with pets and put up with their
many and sometimes irritating habits?

The answer is simple...because we need them in our personal
worlds to make life bearable.

Are you a senior parent with a home now devoid of young
voices and excitement? Have your children moved on to their
own worlds and don't barge back into yours as much as you
would like?

Do you crawl out of bed each morning and wonder how you will
fill the hours until the end of the new day? Do you look
forward to the air conditioning unit turning on and off to
break the endless silence of an empty house?

Scientific research over the years has revealed some
surprising revelations about the very real partnership that
exists between humans and their live in pets. Medical
science has shown that a true symbiotic relationship
develops in an owner and pet equation.

The pet and the owner share a mutual need for each other and
both profit from the arrangement.

A person's physical and mental health show marked
improvement if a pet lives in the household. Loneliness
dissolves and pet owners display increasing vigor and
contentment with the companionship of a pet. Dogs and cats
were the pets most often involved in the medical surveys.

The research revealed that people felt needed by the pet and
were forced to develop a schedule for providing for the
animals' welfare. This mutual reliance helped both men and
women pet owners to become more enthused for their own
personal welfare. In the final analysis, the humans felt
more needed and valuable as individuals.

Because of the contentment factor enjoyed by the pet owners,
significant physical improvements were often displayed.

The very next time you look at Sheba or Butch, lean over and
give them an added pat on the head, or a special treat for
dinner.

Why? Just for being there!

Raymond Angus is a widely read author of articles and books.
He writes about seniors and their world.
To read more of his work turn to: http://www.theseniorslife.com