Have you ever looked at your pet and thought, I wish I could swap places with you! Well you’re not alone. How good would it be to have someone prepare your food every day and on demand too! Sleep whenever and usually wherever you want to, no work and cuddles on demand, sounds perfect! But is there more to our pets that we realise, let’s dig a little deeper….
Whilst we can’t swap places with our pets, you will be surprised just how much we learn from them. Many pet owners would also agree, that in some cases we feel like we need them more than they need us in life.
Whether you have a mouse, rabbit, guinea pig, cat, dog or even a ferret, most pet owners feel a very deep connection with their pet. Some pet parents would even go as far to say, a deeper connection than they have with other humans, so why does this happen? If we dig a little deeper into who our pets are and what they do teach us, we can start to understand why…..
UNCONDITIONAL LOVE WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING BACK
This has to be top of the list! Our pets love us no matter what. On good days, bad days, days or nights that we are out longer than expected – our pets are always there, and they love us no matter what! Even when they get told off for chewing your favourite shoes, it’s not long before they are snuggling and schmoozing. A great lesson for us all, to love the people around us no matter what….
LOYALTY
Our pets are so loyal they only want to be with us. Once they know our scent, their brain associates that scent with feelings of love, enjoyment and overall positive feelings. Pets are loyal no matter what, sure they may have their favourite pet Aunt or Uncle, but it’s you they come back to with so much love to give.
FORGIVENESS
For us humans, we’ve all made mistakes in the past and there are times when we all feel like we need a second chance. For some it’s hard to leave the past behind, we just can’t forget the past and remember both the good and bad stuff.
Our pets live in the moment and for most what happened in the past is now in the past. Whilst trust can be a little tested if you cat or dog had a bad start to life, they are open to new beginnings and before too long – they never look back. They let things go and teach us to appreciate the small things in life.
How guilty do we feel when we must take our pets to the vet, seeing their little face looking back at you all scared and worried. But once you’re home and they are snuggled on your lap, the traumatic trip to the vet is a distant memory and the only thing they are thinking about is you…..oh and food!
EVERY DAY IS A GOOD DAY
Many of us wake up in the morning and our first thoughts are about what needs to be done, what hasn’t been done and what the day ahead has in store. When our pets wake up all they are thinking about is “now”.
If you have a cat perhaps you get a “paw in the face” and for dog owners it may be a “lick in the ear”, either way they wake up and think about us…oh and food!
What a great way to think! Today is a new day, now what will I have to eat??
YOU CAN TEACH AN OLD DOGS NEW TRICKS
Adopting a new pet doesn’t always mean that your new best friend is going to be young, giving a “Golden Oldie” a new home can be very rewarding too! But is it really true that old dogs can’t learn new tricks?
Our pets love us and love to please us and with the help of a few treats, most pets are more than happy to learn new tricks. In fact, it’s a great way to bond with your new fur baby.
A great lesson for us too, it’s never too late to learn. For some people it may be a new job or even a complete change of career path – you’ve only one life to live so love what you do.
MAKE SOMEONE FEEL SPECIAL
How good does it feel to be greeted by your pet when you get home from work. For dog owners the excitement is vocal and physical and if they could wrap their paws around you, they would! For cat owners, it could be a sprint to the door and a schmooze around your ankles, either way it feels good right?
It’s nice to be feel loved and needed to know that your pet has been literally counting down the minutes waiting for you, in between naps!
A great lesson for us to stop and make people around us feel special. It could be a gift, flowers or just a simple thankyou – a small gesture can go a long way and makes someone’s day.
ENJOY LIFE
Just stop for one moment and watch your pet when they’re not looking, they are living in the moment and truly enjoying life.
For those of us that have dogs, you’ll see them sniff, run, play, spin, do random zoomies (when they think nobody is looking) and then just stop and smell the air (all the time whilst making sure you are still in sight!).
For those of us who have cats, they explore, chase, jump, knock your drink off the table, scratch your couch, hide and then spend hours playing with a little toy mouse (until it gets stuck under the couch!).
Taking that moment to watch your pet, you’ll truly learn the meaning of life – and that is to just enjoy life and smile!
GET REST
We all have busy lives with work, children and other commitments that sometimes we forget to stop and rest. It is so important that we all take time out to re-charge our batteries.
Whilst it seems that our fur babies sleep most of the day, they have the right idea! Relax and re-charge is so important to mental and physical health, so take that nap, have an early night and sleep in occasionally, we’re sure your pets won’t object!
BE GRATEFUL FOR THE LITTLE THINGS
How excited does your furry friend get when you mention the word “walkies”! For some fur babies they truly can’t control their excitement. For your cat it may be the excitement of a treat, a new toy to chase or even just the box it came in, sometimes it’s the little things in life that can mean so much to your fur baby.
We are sometimes a little guilty of thinking about what we don’t have as opposed to thinking about what we do have….we can learn a lot from our 4 legged friends and celebrate the little things in life.
TAKE RISKS
It’s human nature that as we get older we don’t take as many risks as we would have done in our younger days. We find ourselves internalising and worrying about what could go wrong as opposed to what could actually go right!
This is very different in the animal world, whilst there is an element of risk assessment pets take risks all the time! What a great way to think!
Whether it’s a new job, a new house, a holiday or anything you have been thinking about doing for some time – why not take the plunge after all we only live once!
RESPONSIBILITY
Having a pet comes with a lot of responsibility.
From an early age many of us have had pets in our lives so it really does teach us how to be responsible for something else other than ourselves. Our fur babies rely us on for everything in their lives; their food, water, health, love and many hugs!
LOVE AND BE LOVED
For most pets their philosophy is simple, to love and be loved. What a great way to look at the world!