Pets - what role do they play in our culture?

Animals have been living with pople since thousands of years. At first they only supplied food and hide or deffended against other, wild animals. They were treated just like machines providing with basic needs and ensuring security. Nowadays things are totally different. Some animlas became so domesticated that they deserve calling them “pets”; dogs, cats, hamsters, guineapigs, rabbits etc. qualify to this grup. They are present in everybodys’ life even if he or she is not owning one. But why do people keep animals at homes? We don’t have to raise them for food, as there’s a shop nearby, we don’t need hide either, as there are plenty of textile booths in the city. The truth is that people don’t need animals for fulfilling their physical needs anymore and ,as nowadays such creatures play totaly different role in our world, they are rather thought to be our companions treated with care and respect.

Nowadays pets are usually like members of a family. We take them everywhere we go (holidays, weekend trips), spend a lot of time playing and petting them, feed with the best food available on the market Animals have a huge influence on development of people. If there are pets in the house, parents and children frequently share in taking care of the it, which suggests that youngsters learn at an early age how to care for and nurture a dependent animal. For younger children, involvement and acceptance are important for building self-esteem. Accomplishing tasks appropriate to their age, when taking care of the pet with their parents, makes a child feel more competent.

What is more pets are also an excellent source of companionship. They can act as a support system for older people who don't have any family or close friends nearby. It is proved that people with pets are able to remain emotionally stable during crises faster than those without. Pets can also work as a buffer against social isolation. Often the elderly have trouble leaving home, so they don't have a chance to see many people. Pets give them a chance to interact. When after death of a partner ,for example, one can feel lonely, then pet can fulfill the emptiness in his heart. This helps combat depression, one of the most common medical problems facing seniors today. The responsibility of caring for an animal may also give the elderly a sense of purpose, a reason to get up in the morning.

The role of pets in our culture can be understood also in other way. When are animals very important? In many situations pets co-operation is almost essential. As dogs have better sense of smell, they are used by Volunteer Mountain Rescue Service to find people under avalanches or lost on mountain routes. They help to seek and get victims out from under the rubble, co-coperate with antiterroristic forces to locate charge and terrorists, support police during risky actions, work with customs officers on frontiers and airports to prevent from drug smuggling. Dogs also protect our domestic premises from burglary and pushy and nosy neighbours peeping through the green fence. Guide dogs are blessing from a God for blind people who don’t have their family and couldn’t go out anywhere on their own for fear of loosing way back home or being knocked down by a car. Other pets like ponnies for example (if we can consider ponnie a pet) can help mentally handicapped to feel better and those who need rehabilitation to recuperate in a shorter time.
All in all, pets play very important role in our life and culture. They help us, rescue our lifes, improve psychical and physical condition and give us love. A lot of us couldn’t even imagine living without a downy and lovely animal friends, but there is one thing nobody should forget about: they are not toys, not dolls which we can discard when they get old or when we become bored with them. While taking a responsibility for pet, be concious that if you give it love and care it will pay you back with an interest.