Are you a proud pet owner? If so, many of you. In fact, the majority of French households have at least one dog or cat. Having a furry friend can be an incredibly rewarding and emotional experience; after all, these little beings provide their masters with unconditional love and companionship no matter how their day goes. But beyond the simple joys of having a pet, what really brings us together, regardless of our backgrounds or life experiences? Let’s explore some universal traits of pet ownership to better understand how we all relate to this privilege in life.
Character traits common to pet owners have been established in numerous scientific studies. The most frequently cited are:
Compassion:
Compassion is manifested in the ability to show kindness to animals, as well as a strong capacity to empathize with their emotions and feelings. Many studies have shown that people who own pets tend to be more compassionate than those who don’t. For example, a study published in Anthrozoös showed that pet owners were more likely to donate money to animal welfare organizations than others.
Empathy :
Empathy has been identified as another trait shared by many pet owners. Studies such as the one conducted by the University of Cambridge have shown that owning a pet can help improve an individual’s ability to understand the perspective of others and feel connected to those around them. surround. This is because pets offer unconditional love and form strong bonds with their owners.
The responsibility :
Responsibility is another character trait associated with owning a pet. It involves taking on the role of caretaker of an animal, providing it with food, shelter and medical care when needed, ensuring that it is safe and healthy, and teach him basic commands or socialization techniques, depending on the species. Research conducted by Virginia Tech showed that the sense of responsibility was significantly higher among pet owners than others.
Reliability:
While most of us easily recognize the human-animal bond between an owner and their four-legged friend, proving that reliability is a common trait is a bit more difficult. Nevertheless, recent scientific studies have determined that one of the common traits among many pet owners is reliability. These findings were obtained from a survey of 166 adults in Britain, where respondents answered questions about owning a pet and their character traits.
It turned out that people who adopted a pet were more trustworthy than those who didn’t. The study goes even further, claiming that this trusting nature could benefit human relationships outside of pet ownership, showing just how powerful this relationship is.
Emotional Intelligence:
Pet owners must also have communication skills because of their lifelong interactions with animals, whose needs they must understand in order to be able to respond to them effectively. These include being able to decipher an animal’s subtle signs, which can indicate whether they are happy or anxious about what is going on around them at any given time.
Studies reported by Psychology Today found that people who regularly interacted with animals were better than others at reading emotional cues, both verbal and non-verbal – known as emotional intelligence – which could be prove beneficial in other areas of life, such as work or school, where effective communication plays a vital role in the success of many activities undertaken daily in these environments.
Loyalty:
Likewise, another character trait demonstrated by pet owners is loyalty. In 2017, researchers from the University of Vienna conducted a survey of the love people feel towards their pets and found that strong feelings of attachment were common among pet owners. This demonstrates how loyal these people were to their animals, as they had bonded with them for many years.
Resilience :
Finally, resilience is also observed in pet owners when faced with difficulties in caring for their pet, for example if it becomes ill or if it gets old and requires special care. A Psychology Today article states that resilient people recognize the importance of providing extra care for their animals during difficult times and are able to cope with all the hardships associated with their responsibility. It can therefore be considered that resilience is also an important trait that unites all pet owners, regardless of country, culture and background.
