Linda Earhart, of the Newnan-Coweta Humane Society, has always loved animals, and the feeling has been mutual.
“My mom used to tell me that my sister would be chased by a dog,” Earhart said. “I’d come home with the same dog following me.”
But it’s cats that have always held a special place in her heart. Today, she has four permanent foster cats, two cats of her own and five foster kittens that she’s bottle feeding until they’re ready for regular cat food and eventually, adoption.
But she feels like the cats give as much as they receive.
“I’m on my own, and they’re like my family,” Earhart said. “You come home from a hard day at work, and dealing with people, and dealing with traffic and you’ve got this animal that’s just waiting to see you.”
Her sentiments have been echoed all over the U.S. More than two-thirds of U.S. households include pets of some kind, and studies show that those pets have a positive effect on their owners’ mental health.
“Interacting with animals has been shown to decrease levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and lower blood pressure,” according to the National Institutes of Health. “Other studies have found that animals can reduce loneliness, increase feelings of social support, and boost your mood.”
Studies show that pet owners have lower blood pressure and are less likely to suffer from depression, according to HelpGuide.org. Pet owners 65 and older make 30 percent fewer trips to the doctor, and heart attack patients with pets live longer than those without pets, states HelpGuide.org.
A 2023 survey of 2,200 adults by the American Psychiatric Association found that 86 percent of pet owners believed their pets had a mostly positive impact on their lives. Owners of cats and dogs were most definite at 86 percent and 87 percent respectively, while 62 percent of owners of other types of pets stated their pets improved their mental health.
Pets are well known for their ability to serve their owners. There are dogs working in law enforcement and in the military. They visit schools, nursing homes and hospitals providing their special brand of support. Pets have saved their owners’ lives during medical emergencies, and they can be trained to help their owners head off medical emergencies.
But pets offer a host of benefits to their owners even without specialized training.
Mike Junda adopted his Aussiedoodle Koda in May 2023. When his wife Marge Bass is dealing with her allergies Koda will be right there with her, he said.
“He can tell if you’re not feeling well,” Junda said. “He’s very smart.”
For children, pets can be a nonjudgmental confidant, playmate and a calming influence. They help the children who take care of them learn responsibility and empathy for another living thing. A pet can help teach children how to build relationships as the child navigates the less rocky road of becoming friends with the animal.
For older adults, pets can offer someone to care for, encouragement to play and laugh and a connection to other people as the owners interact with other pet owners on walks, at the pet store or veterinarian’s office.
But pets also come with responsibilities. They require food, training, veterinary care.
During the pandemic, when so many people were isolated at home, pets offered the companionship that many people were seeking. Campaigns were touting the benefits of pet ownership to those suddenly pushed out of the office and into solitary confinement in home offices.
According to the 2022 AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, from 2016 to 2020 the percentage of U.S. households that own at least one dog increased from 38 percent to 45 percent.
During the same time period, the percentage of households that own at least one cat increased slightly from 25 percent to 26 percent, and then increased to 29 percent in 2022.
But by 2023, some of those so-called pandemic pets ended up abandoned in animal shelters. The ballooning populations at animal shelters tested the limits of shelters and animal rescues alike as they tried to take in the now inconvenient animals.
“Especially last year we saw so many dogs come in that were 1-year-old, a ton,” Earhart said.
Many of them came from first-time dog-owning homes, and the animals may not have been house trained or trained to walk on a leash, she said.
The people were called back to their offices and didn’t feel like they had time to care for the pets, Earhart said.
“All of a sudden, people don’t want them anymore,” she said.
It’s sad, she said particularly in light of how much a pet can enrich their owner’s life.
“Animals do so much for us,” Earhart said. “They really have that calming effect on people’s lives.”