Don’t tell my bosses, but I have a guilty pleasure. Every time a post appears in the pet channel of our internal messaging system, I stop what I’m doing and look.
Sometimes it’s the image of a sweet face with sad eyes looking at the camera. Other times it’s a silly expression or some contortionist pose of a cat (or German shepherd). Every now and then it’s a home video of some goofy behavior that the pet person can’t help but capture and share.
And you know what? Laughing at the silly antics of my colleagues’ furry babies — most of whom I’ve never met in person — immediately takes my stress away. And there’s an added bonus: I now have a new social group that I didn’t have before the pandemic — fellow cat lovers who share my passion for fluff.
Many of us rely on our pets to lift our mood and relieve tension during the steamy pressure cooker of the last couple of years. Research on the human-animal bond has grown during the pandemic, and studies show that pet owners often say the pet reduced loneliness, provided much-needed emotional support, and had an overall positive impact on health.
Impact of the pandemic
But when it comes to the definitive science on the role pets have played during the pandemic, the message is still a little mixed up.
“It’s kind of a mix, honestly. Pet owners perceive a positive impact, but when they actually measure stress levels or symptoms of depression, there is no effect,” said developmental scientist Megan Mueller, study co-author and leader of the Tufts Pets and Wellness Lab.
Several studies have found favorable health outcomes for dog owners who are more likely to walk frequently and spend time outdoors, she said, “Kind of makes sense, right?”
But other studies found that pet owners had more stress and more depression than people who don’t have pets. This can be explained by an individual’s unique circumstances, said Mueller, who is currently preparing a systematic review of pandemic pet research for publication.
“If you are someone who lives alone and is socially isolated during the pandemic, having a pet can be very important,” said Mueller, an associate professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University.
“If you’re a parent of kids and you’re juggling work, online school, and day care, you may not have the same social interaction needs and the burden of caring for a pet may be greater.”
Pet care in uncertain times
Socioeconomic status also plays a role in the human-pet scenario, he added. Many low-income families caught up in the economic uncertainty of the last couple of years may not have the means to provide veterinary and other necessary care for their animals – let alone themselves and their families.
“So while pets can provide a source of emotional support, caring for a pet without the financial support you normally have can be stressful or challenging during a pandemic,” she said.
New research on the role of pets during the pandemic is being published daily, Mueller said, and she hopes that science will be able to unravel some of the nuances of how our pets have helped us during these uncertain times.
Ultimately, Mueller asked, is it really fair to ask our furry friends to alleviate our anxiety and depression while providing companionship? After all, a gold standard treatment for mental disorders like depression is speech therapy, which, as comforting as it is, our furry friends can’t offer.
“Sometimes I wonder if we are demanding too much of our pets,” she said. “My hypothesis is that we are talking about a major event of unparalleled proportions, and the stressors of the pandemic may have been too much to overcome with a pet, at least for some people.
“And as much as we really want to see objective results, in a way perception is also important,” she said. “So I don’t know if we should discount people’s own perceptions of how much their pets have done for them.”
Source: CNN Brasil
