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Having a pet to love is definitely going to enrich your life dramatically. Apart from being able to share wonderful love and companionship with a furry bundle of joy that’s hopelessly devoted to you, there are a lot of other reasons why getting a pet could be one of the best things that you ever did. Here are some examples of reasons that can drive people’s decision to welcome a new pet into their homes.

1. Manage a Physical Health Condition

When people think about service animals, they typically envision service dogs helping people who are visually disabled. In fact, there are much broader applications for having a canine helper. Individuals who have a mobility impairment, for example, could have an easier time managing basic self-care functions with a service dog to help out.

Dogs can also provide lifesaving assistance to individuals who have disorders that cause them to experience chronic seizures. People with severe epilepsy, for example, are continuously at risk of sustaining a major injury during an episode. A trained service dog can alert them that they are about to have a seizure before it happens. The advance alert gives them the chance to prepare accordingly by getting into a safe position, notifying a family member, or taking medication.

The reason that service dogs are able to perform this remarkable feat is their uncanny sensorial skills. Dogs’ acute sense of smell have much more acute olfactory receptors than humans do, and they’re able to pick up on very subtle changes in their owners’ blood chemistry and various hormone levels. Ultimately, people who have permanent disabilities that adversely affect their day-to-day activities could be able to reclaim some of their independence, improve their quality of life, and address unique risk exposures associated with their condition.

2. Care for Your Mental Health

Having a companion to sit with when you watch TV, or a reason to go out a few times a day to get fresh air are all wonderful benefits of pet parenting!

The terms “service animal” and “emotional support animal” are often used synonymously, but they have very different applications. Service animals have training to perform specific tasks and typically need to undergo rigorous programs to attain their credentials as service animals. In contrast, emotional support animals do not have specialized training. This is not to say, however, that the service that they provide for their owners is insignificant. To be considered an emotional support animal, a physician needs to affirm that having the animal as a companion is beneficial for an individual’s mental health.

Emotional support animals do not have the same level of protection as service dogs in public accommodations. However, the distinction is not significant in the context of housing. For the most part, property owners and managers must make reasonable modifications to pet policies to admit emotional support animals.

The unconditional love and joy that pets bring into their owners’ lives can have appreciable benefits for a variety of mental health conditions. Having a dog or cat, for instance, could help people cope with depression or anxiety.

3. Stay Active

One of the best advantages of getting a dog as a pet is that it can help you be more active. If you have a dog, you’ll have to spend time walking it or making trips to a play area. In addition to getting more physical exercise, just getting outdoors more often is good for your health.

4. Be More Social

If you’re a little bit introverted, having  a pet can be just the push that you need to meet more people in your neighborhood. You can hang out with like minded pet lovers at your local bark park or local dog events and connect through various forums. Also, having your dog with you as a wingman can make you feel more comfortable and outgoing in social settings.

Petcare is a big responsibility, so getting a pet isn’t a decision that you should enter into lightly.  A lot of different factors should impact whether you act now or hold off, and they could also bear on the type of pet that you choose.

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