The Mental Health Benefits of Positive Animal Relationships

Positive relationships with animals benefit human mental health while also providing opportunities to recognize and respond to animal welfare needs.

Key Facts

Pet ownership is associated with reduced cortisol, lower blood pressure, and reduced feelings of loneliness
Animal-assisted therapy has documented benefits for PTSD, depression, and anxiety
The human-animal bond is a subject of growing scientific research and practical application
Caring for animals builds empathy and responsibility that can generalize to other relationships
Therapeutic programs using animals require animal welfare standards to protect therapy animals

Welfare Considerations

The mental health benefits of human-animal relationships are well documented and create another dimension of the human-animal welfare relationship. Pet ownership and animal-assisted therapy reduce stress, loneliness, and depression in many contexts. These benefits are most realized when the relationship is genuinely mutual — when animals are well cared for and experience positive welfare in their interactions with humans. Therapeutic animals including horses, dogs, and cats used in structured therapy programs can themselves experience positive welfare from appropriate human interaction when programs are well-designed. Poor welfare programs that use animals as tools without regard for their experience provide diminished human benefits and cause animal harm.

What You Can Do

Recognize and cultivate the welfare dimension of your relationship with companion animals
Support animal-assisted therapy programs that maintain high welfare standards for therapy animals
Advocate for therapy animal welfare standards in professional organizations using animals therapeutically
Consider volunteering with animal-assisted therapy programs as both a welfare contribution and wellbeing practice
Support research into the human-animal bond that considers both human and animal welfare simultaneously