• The need to be loved often leads us to attribute to animals the capacity for unconditional love.
• The pleasure and positive emotions that we experience from communicating with them make us see our own, human traits in them.
• If building relationships with others is difficult, some people prefer an idealized image of “good” animals to interacting with “bad” people.

Lyalka wears a plaid skirt and knows how to give a paw. Her owner Elena is very proud of her. Lyalka is not a puppy or a kitten, but an iguana. It would seem that what touching can be found in a giant lizard? But we can accept as pet any feathered, furry or scaly creature - you just have to believe in the possibility mutual love between us. 70% of pet owners say that they sometimes allow their pet to sleep in the same bed with them, two-thirds give gifts for New Year*. We seem to be drawn to them by the dream of unconditional love. Psychologist Hal Herzog is sure that this idea is greatly overrated: if animals were really so generous with unconditional love, absolutely everyone would keep pets. But this is not so. Additionally, 15% of adults say they dislike their pets**. “I must admit,” the psychologist writes, that I liked the idea of ​​unconditional love more when my wife and I had a dog. Now we are keeping a cat. Tilly loves me when I cook her food or let her take a nap when she wants me to scratch her belly... But most of the time I'm nothing more to her than the guy who opens the window when the cat wants to go for a walk."

We treat them like children

There is no exact data on when human attachment to animals first arose. Anthropologists believe that this happened 35–40 thousand years ago and was associated with the emergence in ancient man of the ability to recognize the thoughts and feelings of other people***. Cave paintings confirm that around this time our ancestors were able to think of animals as humans, as true friend, but special love belonged primarily to the big-eyed, furry baby animals. Why do they seem so touching to us? According to ethologist, founder of the science of animal behavior, Nobel laureate Konrad Lorenz, our tenderness is genetically programmed: animal cubs remind us of our human ones. And we babble, as if with a baby: “Who is so small and so cute?” “According to one theory,” explains Hel Herzog, “love for animals arises as a result of the erroneous triggering of the maternal instinct.” Animal psychologist Elena Fedorovich explains: “We are attracted to pets not only by their touching appearance, but also by their childish (infantile) behavior. An attachment to animals arises as to babies who depend on us and need care and help. They make us feel needed.” It is interesting that the selection of domestic animals (especially dogs and cats) follows this “childish” pattern: more and more new breeds are animals with a large head, a small body, a flattened nose, a convex forehead, and large eyes****.

Who doesn't love animals?

A small child can, without any pity, tear off the wings of a fly to see if it will fly after that. According to , it is natural for children to want to satisfy their impulses in any way. And only over the years, thanks to family upbringing, they begin to perceive a pet as a friend. In a survey of three hundred 13-year-old children, 90% of them answered that animals are capable of unconditional love*. And only 10% said they didn’t like the idea of ​​having a cat, dog or hamster at home. Indifference to animals in itself is not a problem, but if a child takes pleasure in making them suffer, then there is a high probability that he has a tendency to deviant behavior. Thus, among murderers accused of sex crimes, 46% had abused animals as children or teenagers.

Galina Severskaya

It is difficult to unambiguously explain the meaning of our affection from the point of view of evolution: it is unlikely that love for our pet helped our ancestors pass on their genes and gave them a reproductive advantage. And they domesticated animals not only for mercantile reasons - help in hunting and food. First of all, they were driven by an attempt to overcome the primitive horror of being bitten to death, torn to shreds, and eaten. And if it was not possible to tame lions, panthers, leopards and tigers, then they domesticated a simple cat and felt like conquerors of the wild. Today we would say that by domesticating animals, their self-esteem became significantly higher. “I am very pleased with the idea of ​​the cat as a symbol of the lion, as a miniature copy of the king of beasts,” wrote Konrad Lorenz in his famous book “A Man Makes a Friend.”

But only in the 20th century did dogs and cats turn into truly domestic pets, they were allowed into children's rooms and master bedrooms, and most importantly, they began to be picked up, that is, tactile contact arose, from which both we and they enjoy. This is what finally brought humans and pets closer together. “The phenomenon of anthropomorphism has arisen,” states Elena Fedorovich. – People began to attribute their own values, motives, behavioral traits and abilities to animals. For example, spontaneously mentioned qualities of dogs are loyalty, affection, intelligence, intelligence, prudence, respect and appreciation, rationality, sense of responsibility, gratitude.” By the way, dogs and cats are excellent at initiating contact with us using their gaze. Animal psychologists have noticed that owners are more satisfied with the dog that looks at them more often*****.

The amount of positive emotions from communicating with an animal is so great that we begin to feel better. Scientists from Azuba University (Japan) found that even simple game with four-legged friends stimulates the production of oxytocin in our body - the hormone of trust, tenderness, and affection. Oxytocin helps overcome stress and depression, gives birth positive emotions and strengthens faith in people. We think: “Finally, I’m home!” When our dog meets us at the door, wags his tail, barks joyfully, looks devotedly into the eyes and rushes, standing on his hind legs, to lick us right on the nose.

Our relationship with a pet is psychologically much easier and simpler than relationships between people. Largely because there is no verbal contact - there are no extra words, explanations and clarification of who is right. Therefore, sometimes it is easier for us to tell a dog, cat or parrot about our worries, problems and troubles. “Their wordless participation is involuntarily perceived by us as support,” says Elena Fedorovich. “In the end, it doesn’t matter what it means in the animal’s language. It’s just that we are naturally characterized by affiliation - the need to create warm, close, significant relationships both among themselves and with representatives of the animal world.”

They have the power to unite us

EVEN A SIMPLE PLAY WITH A PET STIMULATES OUR PRODUCTION OF OXYTOCIN - THE HORMONE OF ATTACHMENT, TRUST, TENDERNESS.

“As a child, I didn’t have a dog, although I really asked my parents to buy one for me,” recalls 47-year-old Dmitry. “But the neighbors at the dacha had a dog, a husky - big, shaggy, strong, trained by the owner for serious hunting. He treated children as if they were toys. He throws me onto the grass and plays with my head like a ball. Parents, of course, did not like such fun, but we - all the neighboring children - adored this dog precisely for his protective attitude towards us, brutality, strength and beauty. Now it seems to me that this is how we tried to compensate for the absence of always busy adults next to us.” Pets are natural mediators. “They maintain emotional balance in the family, reduce tension in the couple’s relationship, and help the teenager separate from his parents,” family psychotherapist Anna Varga analyzes the situation. “And sometimes they can also ‘replace’ a family member who has died or left the family as a result of growing up or divorce.”

Charm of a lady with an ermine

Does the attitude towards a person change if there is an animal next to him or in his arms? On instructions from psychologists at the University of California at Davis (USA), three girls rode public transport. One appeared on the bus with either a rabbit or a turtle. The second one let in bubble, and the third was watching portable TV. Men approached the girl who had animals in her hands much more often and talked to her much longer. “They unconsciously perceived her as caring, warm and attentive, which means good friend,” comments psychologist Susan Hunt. – Besides, the four-legged pet was a great way to start a conversation*.

* Cerveau et Psycho, 2008, vol. 25.

“When we communicate with animals, we involuntarily become more attentive to other people,” notes Hel Herzog. – They most often live in families with children school age(and really teach them to be kinder and more responsible). Less often - among lonely people, but they are the ones who are attached to animals more than anyone else.” At some times in life, communicating with a pet can completely satisfy our need for communication. During an argument or a period of depression, when we are especially vulnerable, we may prefer the company of a pet to communication with people. After all, alone with Rex or Murka, we don’t have to worry about how we look in their eyes, we don’t have to make an effort to hide our condition.

The unconscious fuels our attraction to some animals and alienation from others. Thus, most teenage girls have a tender attachment to horses. “Such attachment is three times more common in them than in boys,” says zoologist Desmond Morris*****. – Horses are a symbolic embodiment masculinity and perhaps this is what attracts growing girls.”

Repression tricks

Animals today are increasingly endowed with every possible virtue: they are sincere and incapable of lying, they are innocent and kind by nature. And of course, they are contrasted with people. “In fact, the misanthrope is often a frustrated humanist,” muses psychoanalyst Gerard Morel. - Someone who is offended by people because they did not live up to his hopes. They turned out to be insufficiently reliable, faithful, understanding... In a word, not humane enough. And increased sensitivity to animals can compensate for the inability to give free rein to one’s feelings when interacting with people.” If one of us is more touched by a chick that has fallen from its nest than by an old man who became ill on the street, it is not a matter of indifference. Vice versa. “The chick immediately awakens in us the desire to come to the rescue,” says the psychoanalyst. “And the sight of a person in trouble scares us.” We find ourselves face to face with our own fear of death. So we turn away."

For some reason, no one has yet founded a social movement in defense of spiders, mosquitoes and voles. Few people, except fishermen and environmentalists, care about the fate of pollock. We are more likely to be touched by animals that evoke aesthetic admiration. We admire large predators, their beauty and strength - and our warm feelings intensify when we learn that they are under threat of extermination. A female whale with her kits, cutting through the waves of the ocean, seems to us even more majestic and touching because it can become prey for a whaler. When we see a polar bear rushing across a glacier that is melting due to the fault of people, we forget that it could cripple us with one blow of its clawed paw. On TV we see the most beautiful, specially selected footage from the life of animals. But how can we then eat big-eyed calves, curly-haired lambs, and fluffy chickens for hot meat? “Repression is a mental reaction that allows us to throw into the unconscious images that are too disturbing for us,” continues the psychoanalyst. “It protects us so well from feelings of guilt that at dinner we completely forget that we are eating the flesh of a living creature.” And this circumstance does not prevent the growth of misanthropic sentiments in society - animals are better than humans.”

Obviously, we are no better and no worse. And for thousands of years we get along well, mutually influencing each other. So the anecdote about chimpanzees, participants in a scientific experiment, one of whom says to the other: “What trainable people these people are! Now I’ll press the button, and this guy in a white coat will bring me a banana.”

* Journal of Business Research, 2008, vol. 61.

** Anthrozoos, 1998, vol. eleven.

*** M. Tomasello “Origins of Human Communication”. MIT Press, 2008.

**** A. Varga, E. Fedorovich “On the psychological role of pets in the family”, Bulletin of the Moscow State Regional University, 2009, No. 3, vol. 1.

***** “Man and Woman”, DVD, BBC, “Soyuz Video”, 2004.

* S. Ciccotti, N. Gueguen “Pourguoi les gens ont-ils meme tete gue leur chien?” Dunod, 2010.

About it

• “A Man Finds a Friend” Konrad Lorenz We say “dog devotion” – but not all dogs are equally loyal. Some descend from the jackal, while others from the wolf, and they require a different approach. The outstanding animal psychologist and brilliant novelist Konrad Lorenz shows how complex, interesting and deep the relationship between a dog and a person can be (Zakharov, 2001).
• “Joy, nastiness and lunch. The whole truth about our relationship with animals" Hel Herzog Psychology professor Hel Herzog has an amazing sense of humor, enormous erudition and a special area of ​​​​research interests - he explores "why people bring home cats, birds, turtles and even birds and treat them like members families". There are several versions... (Career Press, 2011).

They are more popular than pop stars and politicians. Their photos receive millions of likes on the Internet. They are with us all our lives. Animals. Why do we love them so much? It turns out that scientists have even found answers to this difficult question.

Imitation theory

“The results of imitation give us pleasure,” wrote Aristotle in his treatise “Poetics.” According to his theory, in any phenomenon we are attracted primarily by something familiar, recognizable, similar to our own “I”.

It is not for nothing that the strongest emotions are evoked by fauna whose actions are similar to ours. Monkey antics at the mirror; sea ​​otters holding each other in their sleep so as not to be carried away by the current; a lioness desperately protecting her cubs. In countless fairy tales and cartoons, animals speak human language, wear clothes, and overcome the same social problems. In the circus, four-legged animals will be taught, first of all, to copy certain actions of homo sapiens: walking on their hind legs, counting, riding a bicycle. It turns out that in our little brothers we find and love our own reflection.

Sublimation

This hypothesis partly contradicts the previous one. Thanks to animals, a person makes up for what he does not have in real life. But we, lonely residents of megacities, lack, first of all, connections with nature, sincere love and reliable friends. Pets (that is, living in a house as a member of the family, and not performing any utilitarian function, like draft or meat and dairy cattle) are a phenomenon of modern urban culture. On the contrary, the peasant, as a rule, looks at the inhabitants of the barn in a purely utilitarian way, as a source of resources - a milk cow, a laying hen.

Now think, are there many such examples of love and loyalty in modern highly urbanized society as the Japanese Akita Inu Hachiko, who spent nine years waiting in the same place for the return of his deceased owner? Or can a representative of the current “office plankton” feel his importance otherwise than by giving food and joy to a cat or dog who is completely dependent on him?

Thus, love for animals is a sublimation (manifestation) of our own complexes and unfulfilled ambitions. For example, many eyewitnesses indicated that members of polar expeditions, stern and not at all sentimental men, treated the dogs from their Arctic camp with genuine tenderness, thus receiving the emotional release necessary in the difficult conditions of the North.

Rudiments of animalistic beliefs

“The tribes are divided into totemic clans, each of which is responsible for the propagation of its totem through magical rites. Most totems are animals and plants used for food.” James Fraser. "Golden Bough"

Among primitive people, each genus traced its origin to one or another animal (and not in a symbolic, but in a literal sense). One could not hunt one's own totem; the astral ancestor beast could help in trouble. Echoes of animalism remained in Christianity - for example, the biblical Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove.

So the adoration of pets, which for some develops into blind worship, can be considered a vestige of ancient nature cults that persist in our society along with many other pagan beliefs. “The owner feeds me because I am God,” as the famous joke about cats says.

Actually, animals, like messengers of the deity, can warn about life or death even in the age of exact sciences. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first submariners used to take on board a cage with white mice: if they felt unwell, it meant that the air on the submarine was heavily polluted and would soon become unsuitable for the crew. And even today, sailors get a ship’s cat and feed it the best cuts precisely as an animated talisman designed to ward off misfortune.

Archetype of the collective unconscious

Carl Gustav Jung believed that our psyche is largely determined by the collective unconscious - the generalized result of centuries of cultural and historical experience of humanity as a whole.

From this theory it follows that each individual in his life, at a symbolic level, unconsciously repeats the development of the entire civilization. The most important stage the formation of which was the domestication of animals. Therefore, by getting a four-legged or a feathered animal, we are actually reproducing the most important historical experience from the ancient memory of humanity.

Attractive image

Continuing Jung's ideas, the structural component of the collective unconscious is the archetype. And one of the most powerful visual images that evokes a positive response from anyone normal person, is the image of a child, a baby, when looking at which the maternal or paternal instinct is subconsciously triggered.

Now let's remember the stars of the Internet - cats, raccoons, koalas, bears... What unites them? That's right, body proportions reminiscent of a human child: a large round head with big eyes, short thick legs, small toes... Now do you understand why pictures with puppies get much more likes than photos of white sharks?

Toxoplasmosis?

Master's shadow

And yet: why do we love dogs and cats? Scientists are seriously concerned with this issue. Thus, a joint study by felinologists from the University of Tokyo and the University of South Florida showed that adult cats accurately distinguish the timbre of the owner from the voice of other people, even if the sources of sounds are out of sight.

Experts from Washington University in St. Louis sequestered the genomes of one of the oldest cat breeds, the Abyssinian, comparing its DNA with other mammals, both wild and domestic. As a result, an increased number of genes was identified that are responsible for the nerve cells that regulate the calmness and obedience of cats.

Animal psychologists from the University of California at San Diego conducted an experiment: dog owners, in the presence of their pets, demonstratively caressed plush toys in the shape of dogs - and the four-legged animals experienced real jealousy, trying in every possible way to regain the attention of their owners.

So, perhaps, one of the reasons for the reverent attitude towards animals is their ability to experience the same complex and contradictory feelings that we experience. And sincere affection for dumb brothers is one of the few joys available to everyone.

Love for animals is common to most people. But for some it goes beyond all limits. Is anyone capable of keeping nine dogs in their house? To many this will seem unthinkable. Meanwhile, an elderly couple from a French village are left with nine dogs and puppies after police and veterinarians seized a further 55 animals from them. And this case is not isolated.

Most often, single elderly women turn their own homes into a nursery for homeless animals. The image of the “crazy cat lady” has long become a collective image. There is such a lady among the minor characters in the animated series “The Simpsons”; a similar pensioner lives next door to Harry Potter’s aunt and uncle in JK Rowling’s novels. And in real life, every second city dweller can remember a strange woman, from whose apartment you can constantly hear barking or meowing, and from whose front door there is an unpleasant smell.

From the point of view of psychologists, in this way animal lovers try to feel needed. Usually it all starts with one stray kitten or puppy. The animal becomes attached to the owner, expresses his love and gratitude to her, so she does not hesitate to bring home another unfortunate foundling. There are five, seven, ten dogs or cats... Sooner or later they begin to bear offspring, because owners, as a rule, cannot even think about sterilizing their pets. Often, neighbors throw their kittens to a compassionate pensioner, believing that she will find the time and energy to take care of everyone. At some point, there is not enough space or money for the makeshift shelter, but its owners can no longer stop.

The authorities will not needlessly interfere in the relationship between people and their pets. So, veterinary services have no complaints about Kim Green from Pennsylvania. Although 58 cats have gathered in her house over the course of several years, the woman still manages to look after them: they are all sterilized, there is enough food and trays for everyone, and in order for the animals to have enough space, Green moved to a larger house. Local media reported that a woman is looking for volunteers to play with these cats.

At the beginning of 2008, a Russia Today video about a resident of Novosibirsk who sheltered more than a hundred cats in a three-room apartment was widely circulated. Western viewers are unlikely to have noticed that even the surname of the owner of the orphanage corresponds to her hobby - Kotova. The cats shown in the television story looked healthy, fluffy and happy with life, and the owner herself was amazed at the callousness of the inhabitants of Siberia, who can calmly walk past a cat freezing in a snowdrift. For each of Mrs. Kotova's pets there was almost a meter of living space. By the way, the woman who dedicated her life to cats is not even forty years old.

But in Raisa Glazunova from the Ukrainian Borisopol, cats inhabit the apartment twice as densely: forty square meters of housing there are more than ninety cats and several dogs. That is, more than two cats per square meter.

Apparently, the craziest cat and dog ladies live in the UK. Unimaginable flocks of animals are being seized from British pensioners and pensioners. Thus, in 2005, a trial took place old woman, who kept 271 animals, mostly dogs, in her home. She also began collecting homeless animals to make their lives better, but could not stop in time: there was not enough space in the cottage, dogs, cats and even birds lived in cramped cages, in the dark, stuffiness and dirt. There were an abundance of rats in the house, and besides, the woman did not have time to feed all her pets, and, of course, never walked them. Nine of the dogs seized from her had to be euthanized because the animals were terminally ill and suffering greatly.

Another British couple (as usual, childless) had 269 animals seized in 2003. A complete list of pets appeared in the press: 244 dogs (mostly small breeds), 7 cats, 16 parrots, a rabbit and a chinchilla. Many of them needed help from veterinarians.

It is often discovered that mental disorders of animal lovers become dangerous for their pets. Thus, in Sacramento, California, a 47-year-old man was arrested who, together with his 81-year-old mother, was picking up stray cats on the streets. Thirty animals and the corpses of another three hundred cats were found at his home. The police did not specify what he did with the animals, but it was known that most of the dead cats were found in refrigerators.

In most civilized countries, breeding cats or dogs for food is prohibited. The Moscow authorities adopted the corresponding law five years ago, the Kyiv authorities two years ago. By the way, the mayor of Kiev Leonid Chernovetsky, immediately after taking office, expressed concern that there are many stray animals on the city streets and called on Kiev residents to give them shelter. Chernovetsky himself sets an example for the residents of Kyiv: in addition to the cat, in 2006 he had four hedgehogs, a ferret and an otter. What happened to them now, unfortunately, is unknown.

Another Ukrainian politician, Lugansk MP Yuriy Evdokimov, maintains a zoo at home. In addition to six guard and service dogs, he has a dozen puppies, pheasants, crows, cats, a parrot and even raccoon dogs. True, Evdokimov was once the owner of pet stores and knows how to provide good care for animals.

Exotic pets are another concern for veterinarians. For example, in the UK alone, one and a half thousand monkeys live with private individuals under licenses. It is impossible to know exactly how many exotic animals are sold on the black market, die during smuggling, or die from improper care.

People keep crocodiles, ostriches and wolves at home. However, it should be noted that all reports about tamed Pallas' cats turned out to be false. Pallas's cat does not live at home. Often one hears horror stories about how a man who kept seven monitor lizards at home, his pets. Or, for example, about a woman who bred a hundred tarantulas at home, and then moved and left the spiders with her neighbors.

Many exotic acquisitions are associated with the onset of a particular year according to the Chinese calendar. People prone to superstition and not strapped for money either rush to buy monitor lizards, in the hope that they will pass for dragons, or have tiger cubs at home. In 2008, everything went relatively calmly - just demand has increased for rats and hamsters. But 2009 will be the year of the bull. Let's hope this doesn't force city dwellers to buy cows.

A cat is the closest friend, the second “I” of the owner, so if someone doesn’t like the cat, then he doesn’t like its owner either. Cats are usually owned by ladies who harmoniously combine the advantages of both sexes. Such women are beautiful and smart, feminine and efficient, efficient and effective, pretty and persistent in achieving their goals.

For unmarried cats, cats often replace a non-existent child, because a cat also needs care, affection and tenderness; it is a playful and capricious animal, like a child. A lonely woman with a cat treats men with distrust and is reluctant to enter into close relationships with them. A man who likes cats recognizes a woman's right to be independent. But a bachelor with a cat is a completely self-sufficient person, and it will take a lot of strength to win his heart. Hatred of cats can mean hatred of the entire female sex. In psychology, there is even a term “cat phobia” (scientifically, eilurophobia). Ladies who despise cats feel bad about themselves deep down, and cat-phobic men don’t truly love women.

Dogs

For a woman, her dog is almost always a symbol of a man, even if the dog is female. Looking at the breed, you can always tell which male qualities the owner values ​​most.

A large shepherd means that its owner needs a protector and reliable support. Bulldog means that a woman values ​​her partner’s loyalty, reliability, solidity, constancy and sense of humor. The lady with the Doberman has an iron willpower and is defiant towards men - who can protect me better than my dog? A woman who holds a malicious, yapping, biting and cowardly creature in her arms makes too high demands on men, expecting to find some incredibly wonderful qualities in them. As a result, such women are rarely happy in marriage. Almost everyone who loves dogs is intolerant of the independence of others and seeks to control the lives and actions of loved ones.

It is believed that only evil and cruel people cannot stand dogs, but this is not always the case. Opponents of bobbies and bugs simply may be shy, fearful, may be afraid of these biting and loudly barking predators, or perhaps they simply prefer to seek love and friendship in the human world and do not understand why they might need this little wolf. Many people are disgusted by the need to train another living creature and become its owner, and therefore they flatly refuse to have a dog at home.

Hamsters and guinea pigs

Everyone who loves small furry animals needs protection strong man, tenderness, affection and care, because they themselves feel small and defenseless. That's why children so often ask to buy a hamster; they want to be big, strong, caring friends for tiny animals. If a person cannot stand the stupidity of other people, then he is unlikely to be moved at the sight of a hamster or guinea pig.

Parrots

Exotic bright birds appeal to romantics, melancholic, sensitive, vulnerable people who are bored in silence and loneliness. The parrot reminds of tropical islands, fairy-tale pirates and compensates for the lack of travel in everyday life. Birds are not tolerated by irritable, hot-tempered, workaholics, overloaded with work, sybarites: loudly chirping and piercingly screaming parrots disturb their comfort, confuse their thoughts and confuse their plans.

Rats

Loving rats means declaring to the whole world: I am not a bore! I have original thinking, and your stereotypes have no power over me! A rat fanatic will first study everything, touching and checking, and only then draw his own conclusions. And he doesn't care about other people's opinions. If a child brings home a rat, it means he has a sociable, cheerful, kind-hearted character. Rats are not liked by conservatives, shy, timid, cautious people who follow only beaten paths in life.

Based on materials from wday.ru

The recent popularity of designer dogs, cats, mini pigs and other pets may lead one to believe that pet ownership is nothing more than a fad. Indeed, there is an opinion that pets are a Western fad, a relic of working animals preserved in the memory of the past.

In the UK, almost half of homes have pets; a lot of time and money are spent on them, but they themselves do not contribute to the acquisition of material wealth. However, during the 2008 financial crisis, spending on pets remained virtually the same as before, suggesting that for most owners, pets are not a luxury, but an integral part of life and family.

However, some people keep pets, while others have no interest in them at all. Why is this happening? It is very likely that our desire for the company of pets actually has something to do with our history of cooperation, which began tens of thousands of years ago and played an important role in our evolution. If this is the case, then perhaps genetics can help explain why love for animals is something that some people simply don't have.

Health issue

Recently, many studies have been conducted on the impact of dogs on health, including scientists who have found that dogs reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, help cope with loneliness, and alleviate symptoms of depression.

As John Bradshaw writes in his new book, The Animals Among Us, there are two problems with this statement. First, there is a similar amount of research that shows that pets have no or even some effect on human health. Negative influence. Secondly, pet owners live no longer than those who never even thought about getting a pet. And even if these health benefits were real, they only apply to today's stressed, depressed, and sedentary city dwellers, not to our hunter-gatherer ancestors, so it's not the reason why we started keeping pets. animals.

The desire to adopt an animal is so widespread that one might think of it as a universal trait of human nature, but not all societies have a tradition of keeping animals. Even in the West, there are many people who have no particular affinity for animals, whether domestic or wild.

The tradition of pet ownership often runs in families, and it has been assumed that children raised in a home with pets are also likely to have pets, but recent research has shown that this phenomenon is genetic in nature. Some people, regardless of their upbringing, may be predisposed to seek out the company of animals, while others may be predisposed to avoid them.

Thus, unique genes that contribute to the desire to keep pets may be present in some people, but they are not universal, suggesting that in the past some societies or individuals, but not all, flourished because of an instinctive rapport with animals.

Pet DNA

The DNA of today's domestic animals shows that each species diverged from its wild ancestor between 15,000 and 5,000 years ago, during the late Paleolithic or Neolithic period. That's when people started raising livestock. And at least some of them were considered precisely as domestic animals, kept close to human habitations, which prevented them from crossing with wild animals, and special social status, provided to some animals, prevented their destruction as food. Once isolated, the new semi-domesticated animals were able to become the animals we know today.

The same genes that today predispose some people to adopt dogs or cats may have spread among early agriculturalists. Societies that included people with empathy for animals would thrive among those that had to continue to rely on hunting for meat. Why hasn't this spread to everyone? Probably because, at some point in history, alternative strategies also proved viable.

There's one final twist to the story: recent research has shown that affection for pets goes hand in hand with concern for nature. In this way, pets can help us reconnect with the natural world from which we have become alienated.