Pets have been part of human society for millennia. However, it is only recently that science has decided to study the positive effects of the influence of pets on human life.
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Since time immemorial, the presence of pets in human life has been told in a large number of written texts. The influence of pets on humans has filled pages and pages with books, articles, and other media.
Origin of the influence of pets
Going back to the oldest human-animal relationship, the existence of this relationship is confirmed by archaeological evidence. More specifically, evidence has been found that the domestication of the dog took place at the end of the last ice age.
At that time, humans were engaged in hunting and gathering. Also, they were nomads: in other words, they did not have a permanent residence. Domestication is the result of a process of interaction between both species that lasted tens of thousands of years.
The ancestors of the dogs established interaction with humans based on protection, food supply, and shelter, which turned into co-evolution and cooperation. Nowadays, in western culture, the number of houses in which at least one dog or cat is present has increased, as have the houses in which more dogs or cats are housed.
Science and human-animal interaction
In the past, science did not attach importance to the interaction between a human being and his or her pet. According to Darwinian vision, in the city, a pet does not bring with it any appreciable advantage. On the contrary, it involves an increase in economic expenditure and in the time required to provide food, care, and attention.
Nevertheless, people continue to adopt or incorporate pets into their households, considering them another member of the family. And science has taken note of how important the presence of these animals is in human life.
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What do people get from their relationship with pets, ignoring the economic consequences?
That is the question to which we have been trying to respond in recent years. Over the last three decades, the relationship between people and pets has been examined in detail. Their study has been conducted through different disciplines in different scientific fields, such as psychology, anthropology, and history.
Anthrozoology is a discipline that has aroused great interest in today's society. As a result, scientific journals dedicated to this new field of research have appeared, as well as the establishment of numerous associations.
One of these associations is the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), an authoritative source dedicated to the dissemination of scientific studies related to this topic. It is also responsible for collecting donations to fund this research. Universities in the United States have also established doctoral programs dedicated to this subject.
Some authors have conducted their investigations at the molecular level and have suggested that the hormone oxytocin may be a relevant factor in seeking an answer to the question we have asked ourselves. This hormone makes it possible to establish links of trust between people, as well as between humans and animals.
Some of these studies have shown that dogs can keep their eyes on people. Creating a mutual look is important in relationships, to build trust. As philosopher Martin Buber said, "the eyes of an animal have the power to speak a great language".
Oxytocin thus intervenes in establishing a social bond. However, its role has not yet been fully clarified, because it is excessively complex. Nevertheless, a new expression was born from these investigations: the "domestic animal effect".
We can speak of the influence of pets on man for many centuries now
The effect of the influence of pets
The "pet" effect refers to the positive influence of living with an animal on people. Several studies have found a health benefit, such as, for example, increased chances of survival following a heart attack.