The support your pet gives you is priceless!

I am besotted with animals. I think they are wonderful, beautiful, loving, funny and whatever positive attribute I can think of. The world would be a very sad place without animals. They can teach us so many wonderful things about living, loving, acceptance, tolerance, forgiveness and nature that it astounds me that so many people can dismiss them as a mere by-product to life or even be cruel to them.

But the true value of animals, in particular pets, really comes to the forefront when we are suffering. They are sometimes the only thing standing between us and a wish to die. It would be impossible to guess how many lives dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, birds, fish, cows, goats, snakes, goannas – I could list the entire contents of Noah’s Ark here – have saved, and continue to save, just by being there when no one else was or is. The bond with an animal can be as powerful as the bond with a human, in some cases even more.

The medical community has long discovered that animals have an encouraging therapeutic influence on people who are suffering. The positive impact and calming effect a pet can have on a person who is in emotional pain cannot be overrated. Our pets love and support us in non-verbal ways, they sense when we are down. Have you ever seen a dog put his head on the knee of someone who was sad and down and gently nudged them with his nose? Have you experienced a cat snuggle up to you, purred and head-butted you when you felt like crying?

When we struggle with depression the company of an animal is lifegiving. It gives us love and acceptance when we can no longer accept ourselves. Some people slip so deep into depression that they can hardly take care of themselves and if left to their own devices they would barely eat, clean or even get dressed for maybe weeks and just slowly wither away. However, the presence of a pet often can pull them out of the emotional hole. The need to walk the dog forces them out of isolation and to again make a tentative step into the world. The pet’s demands for food may entice them to buy some food for themselves as well.

The responsibility of taking care of an animal and the love we feel for it makes us aware that there is still something to live for. Being able to meet the needs of our pet gives us a sense of achievement. It makes us feel needed and tells us that we are not useless or a waste of space. Responsible pet ownership requires a daily routine and this in turn gives us some stability upon which we can slowly build up our life again bit by bit.

But I must stress that owning an animal is a long-term commitment. A pet is not just something you buy from the local pet shop and in a few weeks or months, when you get bored with it you can give it back or - god forbid – dump it. That animal will invest its entire trust for its life in you, be sure you can honour it before getting a pet. If you are not sure that you commit to an animal for maybe 10 to 20 years, try to make contact maybe with a neighbour’s animal. Ask if you can take their dog for a walk or stroke their cat. Or go to the animal shelter and give some poor animal some much needed attention and love, and the staff will be grateful too.

However, if you do want a pet for the long haul, I beg you to first go look for a pet at the local animal shelter or the RSPCA and don’t only insist on a kitten or a puppy. Sometimes an older animal, maybe one who has also suffered, will make the better companion in your life. Give them a second chance because they will repay you a thousandfold in love and acceptance.



Here are pictures of my cat Coco, who was dumped because she was pregnant, and Benny (ginger tom) who is one of her kittens. The other two kittens also got a good home (only 3 kittens survived because she was so weak). Coco and I have a special bond because I held her paw and comforted her when she had her kittens just one day after she appeared at my door, so starved that fur was missing on her paws and with a tick. I always feel because she also was abandoned that we have a special affinity.