Many of my Designer friends are pet people and growing up on a small farm animal care and pets has been one of my passions. We welcome inventors with new pet product or pet care prototype. We are surrounded by the animal kingdom as some remain attracted for a lifetime while others tend to look in the other direction or even dislike the creatures. For many it becomes a passion of bonded four legged service.
It may have started with a hamster or a kitten or a puppy as the animal attraction with the responsibilities and life lessons learned and bonds formed are proving to be priceless. The resulting compassion we usually get to express to these animals and unlimited compassion we receive back is very powerful and human empowering. 1
Veterinary research reveals that up to 70% of the US population are pet owners and the pets relationship can be very positive.2 “Zooeiya” is a recent term used for the research evidence that shows the positive health benefits of interacting with an animal.4 We know the younger we can domesticate or handle the animal from birth, the more human friendly and closer the bond becomes. The family unit benefits from the stability of the relationships as the children often view them as the most loyal companion in their life. The ownership also forces us to deal with the realty of death and loss of the pet with an average 10 -15 year life span. That heart wrenching loss of a dear pet can be devastating to the owners dealing with the physical and emotional loss. In these tough times is when the inspiration for new pet product or pet care prototype ideas and inventions sometimes happens. Just give us a ring and we will be jumping!
In today’s more wireless physically not in the same room disconnected world, the physical contact is becoming even more important to the human need for personal touch and social bonding. I often take my work breaks to pet our cat! The pet interaction becomes an emotional stabilizing factor, as Doctor Moore’s research indicates even a homeless person may choose to live outdoors rather than give up their pet to gain shelter. The data points to the positive attributes of owning a pet are better overall health quality to actually decrease stress, resulting in very positive physiological affects on people. Vets are like Magic – Pet Product Designers are very passionate and I speculate Inventors are usually pet people.
REFERENCES: Buckeye Smart©: “The Power of a Pet” Feb 17, 2017 Columbus Ohio Rustin M. Moore, DMV, dean of The Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine, featured speaker, hosted by the Ohio State Alumni Association.
- https://www.osu.edu/alumni/activities-and-events/events/2016/buckeye-smart-the-power-of-pets.html
- https://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/pet_ownership_statistics.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
- https://www.osu.edu/alumni/
- https://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/patrick-mahaney/2014/june/link-between-pets-and-human-health-31823