Happiness Tip: Hang Out with an Animal

There is such thing as prison cat rehab. They let death row inmates earn the right to foster and adopt a cat destined for euthanasia (death row kitties). They end up rescuing each other. Since the cats are a privilege, it keeps the prisoners motivated for good behavior. The kitties behavior can improve too (since they were “unadoptable”). More importantly, these hardened criminals get an opportunity to love and nurture – a role they may have never had before. It changes them and calms them. Love and nurturance are so powerful, the inmates are surrogate parents for these kitties. Civiltongue.com has a piece on it.

I appreciate your comment about the danger of parents of kids taking on another mammal to care for.  Having our 2 dogs has been one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done, and one of the things I regret most in my life of over 55 years. After long consideration – interviewing people and getting info from several sources about what is required in caring for a dog, we adopted 2 dogs as my children were begging for them (and had already become attached to them at a children’s camp where they met the dogs). We were told that all the pups need is a 20 minute walk 2x/ day. How wrong this advice was. I live in a constant internal civil war over whether to keep the dogs, as the children want, or to get rid of them given how much I resent the poor dogs because I have no time/ energy/ money for dealing with them after caretaking children all day long. Getting these dogs, perfectly nice energetic creatures I’m sure, has been a source of great conflict and misery in our family due simply to the parallel overwhelming demands of caretaking children (1 very difficult) and caretaking the dogs as well.  Perhaps our experience will save someone else from taking on too much.

From someone who has two dogs and two cats, I agree. One of my dogs was used as a therapy dog when I was in clinical practice counseling children. I was always amazed at how easily children opened up when the dog was around. Even the other staff members benefited from her presence.
I would like to add that I believe it is helpful for a young child to be raised with a pet or pets. Puppies are a lot of work, but there are numerous older dogs that are good with kids and desperately need a home. We brought a 3-year-old lab/husky mix home when I found out I was pregnant, and a one-year-old Kai Ken shortly after our daughter was born. We already had cats. Our daughter (who turns 5 tomorrow) has been raised around dogs and cats and is now well-versed in appropriate ways to handle furry members of a family. In fact, in her end-of-year preschool assessment the teachers commented how her love of animals shines through in empathy and compassion. 

Truer words were never written.  My dog, who died recently, was the creature I faced life with.  He was always there, always enthusiastic about life, and always accepting.  Another pu will be coming into my life shortly bringing his own energy.
I have seen cats bring great companionship to old relatives and gave them a reason for continuing  to live – the joy of a loving animal.
I also think that the joy of animals comes with both the responsibility to love and care for them their whole lives AND the financial ability to provide for their needs.  I think most of your readers would fit that category.
Animals are the best.