Half of pet owners believe animals are the hidden support network of the UK

SWNS

Half of pet owners believe animals are the hidden support network of the UK - helping them overcome bereavements, break-ups and simply a bad day at work.  A poll of 2,000 adults who have a cat or dog found their four-legged friends regularly help them when they’re feeling down.  They claim pets have helped improve their mood when they’ve been ill (47 per cent), after a bad day at work (39 per cent) and following an argument (22 per cent).  Actions that give humans the boost they need are their cat or dog snuggling into them (65 per cent) or greeting them when arriving home (58 per cent).  It also emerged 54 per cent believe spending time with animals acts as therapy, while three quarters feel being a cat or dog owner has helped improve their mental health.  Nearly half (49 per cent) also claim it’s had a positive impact on their physical health.  The research was commissioned by pet care specialists Purina, which is launching a campaign to spotlight the support pets provide to people in need.  Calum Macrae, CEO of Purina UK & Ireland, said: “We believe that pets are absolutely the UK’s hidden support network – they really are the ones there by our side, often when we need them most.

Transcript

00:00Being a footballer is an absolute dream come true but I couldn't do it without her by my side.

00:07My dog's been the best thing ever for me in my lonely times. Being away from family, being away

00:12from friends, not knowing people, just being able to come home and know that there's someone there

00:17waiting for you who's, yeah, the happiest person in the world to see you. I know I'm not the only

00:22one whose life has been made better because of Pet. In fact, research has shown that half of

00:26pet owners say they believe that pets are the hidden support network of the UK.

00:32That's why I've teamed up with Purina to support their commitment to help 1 million people in

00:37vulnerable situations improve their health and well-being by 2030 through the power of Pet-Human

00:42Bond. I'm so proud to call on the nation to say thank you, Pet. This is my cat and her name is

00:52Missy Valentina. This is Bobby and she's my life. Nyan Nyan, say hello. All animals are important

00:59to owners and my cat is important to me because I love her to bits. I mean, without her, I don't

01:04know where I'd be. Whenever I feel lonely, I think she just sits next to me and then let me pet her.

01:10Dogs are important because they just become part of the family. Yeah, she helped me a lot during

01:14COVID. It was difficult at the times where you couldn't take them out for long walks but we had

01:18a lot of fun doing their tricks in the garden.

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