Recently getting a rescue golden retriever is a new experience for me. We've never had a dog before and although it's taken me a little while to get used to her, she's gentle and perfect. I deal with autism and she knows just when to comfort.
Losing my twin in December 2022 was difficult. She was the other half of me. Without the pandemic, I would like to think I would have fared better losing her, but throughout the pandemic my mental health has taken a knock and my twin's death has tipped my mental health over the edge.
Pets help fill a mental space
Pets make us feel better with what we deal with. They fill a mental space. They help us to decompress, help take away our stress and help us to cope better. They're non-judgmental, they aim to please, they're kind, they notice our mood, they help make us feel better, all reasons to think about investing in a dog, or a cat.
When you adopt a rescue animal, you cut down the expense and you're saving a life. As much as a pet attend to our needs, we need to attend to theirs, one hundred percent. A pet is a long-term commitment and an investment.
Pets help you deal with change
There are abused, abandoned and neglected dogs and cats waiting to claim their forever homes, so why not think about how good a pet is for your physical and mental health, and the rewards you take from investing your time in one. The world is changed, we all have a different life now. A pet can help with change.
Pets fill a void
If like me you're still scrambling to fit in to your life, having a pet helps. In the pandemic, many of us have lost a loved one to Covid, or cancer, or know someone who has. With autism, Nelly makes me feel better. I'm not feeling as dispirited as I was. For many, getting back into their lives, with the virus still out there, can still very much be a challenge.
I love my own company and don't usually mind the silence, because it increases my focus and allows me to concentrate better on my thoughts and my writing, but with autism and in the pandemic it has also brought an eery silence that is noticeably large. Now with Nelly that silence has gone.
I can resonate with this lovely blog. I was reluctant to have another pet after losing one after 14 years last year, but now having another has filled a void, both physical and emotional.
Pets can increase forces to go out and exercise and socialise while helping us manage or feelings, loneliness and depression by giving us companionship.
Having said I didn't want another, I can now say I'd never be without one.
I agree with you. Wise words. If the media is to be believed animals helped us through lockdown in the pandemic, then we handed them over to again, when life started going again.
There are so many abused animals out there who deserve a second chance at life. Perhaps now is a time to pull that back and help those animals looking for homes, find new homes. Supporting animal charities has never been so important.
I have always had an affinity with animals. Through social media I retweet threads so that abandoned animals can find new homes. I also contribute to an animal charity.