NCSB Journal Summer 2026

PATHWAYS TO WELL-BEING

Why We Love Our Pets: Professional Benefits from the Human-Animal Bond B Y L A U R A M A H R

My parents started a small-town veterinary clinic in the lower levels of our family home when I was one year old (think All Creatures Great and Small ). My father was the veteri narian, my mother the office administrator and self-trained veterinary assistant, my siblings and I were the always-around junior assistants. Growing up in the vet clinic, I was immersed in the overlapping worlds of animals and hu mans. Throughout my childhood I assisted my dad by holding cow tails, horse reins, and IV drips. My siblings and I kept puppies and kittens warm after late night emergency C sections. I learned how to calm hospitalized animals in order to clean their kennels. I ac companied my father on farm calls and listened with rapt attention as he described his emer gency calls for exotic species at the zoo. My family inherited and raised dogs, cats, pigs, and a parrot that were abandoned by their owners at the clinic, which undoubtedly con tributed to my passion for feral cats. Through observing the way my father worked, I learned how to care for animals and support their healing by utilizing calm confi dence. “One of the most important aspects of my work,” my dad shared when I discussed this article with him, “was to steadily calm and relax myself into a state such that my heart rate slowed and showed no sign of tension, which the animals could sense, sometimes at great distances.” Conversely, no matter the species my dad was examining (horses in par ticular, he notes), if he exhibited anxiousness during the exam, the animals’ fear response would escalate. My father’s approach to veterinary care demonstrated to me early on the human-ani mal bond as well as the bi-directional impact of human-to-animal nervous system states. For example, a physically relaxed human nerv ous system (steady breathing, fluid movements, soft voice) is more likely to result in a relaxed response from an animal (at ease, curious, re sponsive). Similarly, when animals exhibit signs

©iStockphoto.com/Juergen Sack

of a relaxed and regulated nervous system, a human’s nervous system relaxes as well. Over time, I noticed a reciprocal dynamic related to the human-animal bond: when humans of fer care and positive attention, animals recip rocate with a grounding and steadying pres ence and vice versa. The Human-Animal Bond According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the human-animal bond is “a mutually beneficial and dynamic rela tionship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviors considered essential to the health and well-being of both. This bond is beneficial to the mental, physical, and social health of people and animals.” Those of us who share our lives with ani mals likely recognize the unique mental, phys ical, and social health benefits of the human animal bond. Our pets, in addition to being cute and cuddly companions, provide us with key capacities we need that can, at times, be difficult to find when relating to other humans: for example, unconditional love, playfulness, undivided attention, an exercise buddy, and constant excitement at reuniting with us.

“The value of the human-animal bond is reflected in the amount that people are willing to pay to care for and to prolong their pets' lives,” my dad commented. “Recently, I’ve made note of increased preventative medica tions, higher quality pet food, safety equip ment, outdoor wear, and advancing medical care and improved end of life options for pets. In the process we have extended the predicted length and quality of life for our animal friends.” The depth of the human–animal bond of ten becomes most evident in loss. The death of a pet can bring profound, disorienting grief, reflecting the strength of that attachment. Re cent research shows that a pet’s death can even lead to Prolonged Grief Disorder, with symp toms comparable to human loss, with 21% of the research participants finding their pet’s death to be more distressing than human loss. 1 Research on the impact of animals on hu man mental health and well-being is also well established and continues to expand. In prepar ing this article, I reviewed numerous scientific studies published over the past two decades, examining human interactions with a range of animals ranging from dogs to donkeys. Col-

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THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BAR JOURNAL