Pets now permeate every area of our lives. We celebrate National Pet Day; we see owners throwing lavish birthday parties for their fur kids, which they live stream on their pet’s social media account, while some of our four-legged friends have wardrobes larger than a working adult’s.
No, they are not just pets, they are family. More and more people are delaying parenthood – especially millennials – and choosing to become pet parents instead. According to a study by Wakefield Research in 2014, 76 per cent of young adults were more willing to spend on their pets than on themselves, whereas only 50 per cent of Baby Boomers did. Instead of owning a home or a car, the younger set prefer keeping a pet as it costs less but at the same time provides companionship that helps fill the emotional void often experienced by singles.
PET Therapy
A research conducted by The Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) with 2,000 pet owners revealed that 74 per cent of pet owners saw improvements in their mental health as a result of owning a pet. It’s no wonder that pet therapy is a burgeoning trend and it’s increasingly recognised by health professionals as an effective form of treatment. It’s a method of healing facilitated by an animal handler together with therapy pets such as dogs and cats in a therapeutic context. While animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is more of a goal-oriented treatment plan, animal-assisted activities (AAA) involves providing aid for recreational pursuits, motivation, education and also other life improvement programmes.
1 For Mental Health
This story is from the May - June 2020 edition of Her World Malaysia.
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This story is from the May - June 2020 edition of Her World Malaysia.
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