Reaping the Health Rewards of the Animal-Human Bond

Interacting with animals can do wonders for your health. From companion animals to animal-assisted therapy, the animal-human bond can enrich your life in a host of ways.  

If you’ve ever shared your home with a cat or dog, you’ve likely experienced firsthand the deeply positive ways the animal-human bond can impact your life. Dogs nearly burst with uncontained excitement and love when they greet you at the door. Cats respond in more subtle ways, expressing their love by weaving through your legs, purring, and meowing with joy upon your arrival.

Animals never judge you, even on your worst days or during your worst moods. They don’t reject or abandon you. Instead, companion animals love unconditionally and are unwavering and steadfast in their devotion to their humans.

Animals also spark heartfelt laughter and joy with their silly antics. They provide comfort and stability during stressful times. They can help ease grief and loneliness. They can even help foster healing from trauma.

In fact, many people who share their homes with one or more companion animals feel such a deep bond with them that they think of their animals as children or beloved members of the family—not just pets.

Despite the host of health benefits, adopting a pet is not feasible (or desirable) for everyone. The costs of food and veterinary care can be a barrier to adopting your own companion animal. A hectic work schedule or frequent travel might keep you away from home and your pet. You might also live in housing that doesn’t allow pets or share your home with someone who has allergies. While these barriers might make adoption less than a perfect fit for you, it’s certainly not the only way to bring animals into your life. There are many other ways you can establish an animal-human bond and enjoy the many health and wellness benefits they offer. 

Other ways—besides adoption—to get your fur fix 

There are plenty of options besides adoption. If adopting your own companion animal doesn’t feel right for you, you might want to try one or more of these other ways to interact with animals instead:

• Spend time with a friend’s or neighbor’s companion animal. You might offer to walk a neighbor’s dog a few times a week. Or you could take them for a play session at the beach or dog park. You could also offer to care for a friend’s dog or cat (in your home or theirs) if they work long hours or travel frequently.  

Cherie, a real estate agent in San Diego, California, and her partner, George, did just that. They fell in love with a neighbor’s dog, Lolita, and began taking her on walks and bringing her to their home for visits when Lolita’s human was working long hours or traveling.

“I absolutely love animals and miss owning one myself,” Cherie explained. “But now that my children are grown and on their own, my partner and I also enjoy our freedom. So, we started ‘borrowing’ my neighbor's dog and a couple of other friends' dogs on occasion to get our fur fix.”

Cherie described how she and George have bonded very deeply with their neighbor’s pup, Lolita:

“There is something wonderful about picking up Lolita, who we jokingly call our ‘timeshare dog,’ when I know I have time to enjoy her. One to two days a week, I'll text her dad, Mario, and ask if it would be OK to pick up Lolita for a visit. He always says, ‘Yes, of course!’

Soon, we fell in love with Lolita, but also with the freedom of not having vet bills, everyday worries, or the guilt from leaving a pet alone at home when we leave the house. We're kind of like ‘the grandparents’ who get to spoil her with love, treats, and toys—but without all the stress and responsibility.”

Cherie shared how this setup benefits her, her partner, and Lolita, their timeshare dog:

“If I were asked when I’m most happy, it would be when I get to play with a cute puppy. Especially those first moments when I go to pick up Lolita. When she first sees me, she goes wild kissing me, then she rolls over and cries and cries with excitement. I can see that she’s experiencing emotional overload, but in a good way. And I know how much she benefits from her visits with us, too. Her dad works many nights, and she would be sitting home alone. I know her dad feels great knowing she’s being loved and spoiled rotten, instead.”

• Volunteer at a shelter or rescue organization. Local animal shelters or rescue groups in your area are another great way to connect with animals. They often need volunteers to walk dogs or play and cuddle with the different animals in their care. You’ll spend a joy-filled day helping animals cope with the stress, fear, and feelings of abandonment they often face in a shelter or adoption setting. You might even volunteer to foster a shelter animal in your home for a limited time.  

Lynn, a volunteer with a local cat rescue in Southern California, had this to say about her experience with the animals there:

“I love cats and wanted to help those in greatest need. So, it gave me an extra “feel-good” bonus when I spent time interacting with the cats at the adoption center. Many of these animals had either been abandoned by their previous owners, dropped off at the shelter, or born on the street. Many had never really known human love or the safety and security of a stable home. This made the love I gave them even more vital and life-changing. Interacting with these rescued cats felt like a bridge to a new life for them—a bridge that I hope helped them find safe, loving, and permanent new homes.”

• Visit or volunteer at a farm-animal sanctuary. Sanctuaries for farm animals are popping up all over the country. Many offer tours that include cuddle-and-play sessions with cows, goats, pigs, or turkeys (yes, that’s actually a thing!). Research shows that farm animals are surprisingly affectionate, responsive, and intelligent. They love to cuddle and play. And they’ve been shown to trigger powerful feelings of joy, connection, and emotional well-being in the humans who interact with them.
  

• Volunteer at a horse rescue center. If you love horses (or donkeys) or want to spend time with them, you may want to volunteer at a horse or donkey rescue. You could also help out at an equine-assisted therapy center. Many of these facilities need volunteers to assist with lessons, horse care, and barn maintenance. They typically require volunteers to be at least 14 years old. You’ll likely need to complete orientation or training sessions—even though prior experience with horses is often not required.  

Going a step further: Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) 

Animal-assisted therapy (AAT) is a treatment approach that's been around for years. Its main goal is to help people recover from mental health issues. This includes anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).   

AAT has also been used to help treat children with autism. While dogs and cats are commonly used in animal-assisted therapy, the practice has evolved over the years. It’s evolved both in the types of conditions it can help treat and in the wide range of animals involved in this therapy.

The goal of AAT is to bring animals into group or single-person therapeutic settings to achieve certain treatment goals. AAT is provided by a trained human handler and provider, with the intent to help improve symptoms.

You’ll often find AAT programs in hospitals, senior care facilities, nursing homes, hospice centers, veterans’ homes, and mental health clinics. If you or a loved one is struggling with a mental health concern, talk with your doctor about this treatment option. While AAT is not meant to replace other forms of psychotherapy, it can be an effective add-on to other treatments.

AAT has also grown from largely using cats and dogs to include a much wider array of furry therapy friends. From cows and other farm animals to hamsters, horses, and other critters—the options for AAT are endless. There are even dolphin-assisted therapy programs, which have prompted discussions about the ethics of using these marine mammals in therapy.

Service dogs 

A service dog is a unique type of support animal. They’re brought into the homes of people who are visually impaired or have other health concerns. And they are specifically there to help their human with daily tasks. Service dogs are a form of AAT, but they are not normally used in group or community settings. If you or a loved one has a condition that requires help with daily living, ask your doctor about the possibility of adopting a service dog. 

Emotional support animals 

Emotional support animals (ESAs) are a bit different from AAT animals. They’re used less for treating specific mental health or developmental conditions and more as a tool to provide comfort when stress and other emotions run high. Most often, these are dogs, but other animals can be ESAs, too. ESAs are adopted by individuals to live in their homes, whereas AAT animals tend to be used in group homes and group therapy settings.

Discover the difference between service dogs, emotional support animals, and assisted-therapy animals.  

Digging deeper into the health perks of the animal-human bond 

Still on the fence about bringing more animal interaction into your life? Keep in mind the health perks waiting for you if you do. Simply petting or cuddling an animal can trigger some pretty powerful responses in your brain and body. Interacting with animals can:

• Boost the release of feel-good chemicals known to improve mood and emotional well-being, such as prolactin, serotonin, and oxytocin.  

• Lower stress and anxiety. Petting and cuddling animals has a calming effect and lowers the stress hormone cortisol.  

• Lower blood pressure and decrease heart rate. The calming, stress-easing effect animals have can in turn lower heart rate and blood pressure.

• Comfort you when you feel sad, stressed, angry, or lonely. Research suggests that animals may help ease feelings of grief. And animal-assisted therapy may even help promote healing from trauma and lessen the symptoms of autism and other conditions.  

• Spark spontaneous, uninhibited laughter and joy. Animals are often highly entertaining and funny.

• Enhance your social interactions and deepen connections. Getting out to walk your dog or visit an off-leash dog park increases the chances of meeting other dog guardians. You’ll make new friends with a common interest and likely deepen your social bonds with them, too.

• Enhance cognition. More research is needed, but one 5-year study of older adults with mild Alzheimer’s disease found that those with a companion animal had slower disease progression. The study also found that they had less severe symptoms than Alzheimer's patients without a pet.  

Final thoughts 

Caring for a companion animal of your own may come with a bit of stress now and then. But it also brings so many mental, physical, and emotional health benefits. And if adopting your own pet isn’t right for you, there are still plenty of other avenues to bring animals into your life, heart, and even your home. So, think about taking advantage of one of the many options above to get your fur fix. Then savor the laughter, love, joy, and many health perks the animal-human bond has to offer.  

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This article was written by Gail Olson, edited by Stephanie Ruiz, and clinically reviewed by Elizabeth Thompson, MPH, RDN, on February 27, 2026.