Ever been called an animal? Were you smart enough to know that was a compliment? A big compliment?

I was blessed with a mother who loved animals. As I was growing up with lived with birds, cats, dogs, and one or two rescued wild things that we eventually set free.

My husband and I were introduced by his dog Brutus. Brutus had been rejected by his owners and adopted David. Brutus then adopted me and David was trapped. Brutus knew we were meant to be. Both David and I had our emotional lives saved by animals.

Our sons were also raised with dogs, cats, and birds. Animals who grow up together become family together. What the globalization of the world will do for people if we don’t kill ourselves first.

The picture above is our raccoon Boonie who was rescued by my sons, lived with us for a year until we finally find him a home in the wild. You can read and see more pictures about  Boonie here.

research  on Pets and People.

1. Pets offer a soothing presence. Research shows when we are with our dogs, cats, lizards, and pigs we grow calmer. As one researcher notes ” We slow our breath, our speech, our minds. We don’t hit as many people or use as many four-lettered words.”

2. Pets offer unconditional love and acceptance. I was a very lonely child, until my wise mother rescued a dog from our local shelter and gave her to me.  David had to go on a hunger strike to get his parents to buy him a dog. We both agree, those childhood pets gave us what we lacked in terms of emotional support.

3. Pets promote relationships with other people. David and I would not have met without Brutus and our mutual love of dogs and other animals.

4. Pets take us out of ourselves and make us responsible for another. James Garbarino ,expert on trauma and children, notes that a child caring for a pet grows stronger than those in pet free homes.  

5. A furry pet in the home inoculates children against allergies. University of Wisconsin-Madison pediatrician James E. Gern has conducted a number of studies that demonstrate having a pet in the home can actually lower a child’s likelihood of developing related allergies by as much as 33 percent.

Even goldfish can become pals, so get a pet, get two or three or four. Get as many as you can care for. Support rescue missions.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO

Thank me by liking, commenting, or sharing. Those small acts of kindness keep me going.

Katherine

These links are for those not familiar with Emotional Intelligence or the idea of Emotional Fitness.

• Emotional Intelligence (en.wikipedia.org)
• The five components of Emotional Intelligence (www.sonoma.edu)
• Emotional Fitness Tips for Parents  (parentsarepeopletoo.com)
• An Emotional Fitness Program for Parents(amazon.com)

NOTICES

The Web Host for my EFTI Store jacked up its fees. The Store is no longer. Life goes on. I am working to find a better way to sell my poster coaches. Meanwhile, you can buy my books on Amazon.

My PDF eBook Cross-Train Your Brain is still free but the end is nearing as Defang Fear In All Its Disguises is about to go free as a PDF. So if you have not downloaded it Cross-Train, do so now. It will soon cost a pretty penny.

 POST INSPIRATION

This post was inspired by the WordPress Daily Prompt “Buddy” Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt. Not sure how to participate? Here are the steps to get started.

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