Over-humanizing pets can affect their well-being

The over-humanization of pets in a society that increasingly treats them as family members can lead to “practices that do not respect their physical and psychological integrity” due to the tendency to “forget their natural needs and behaviors,” since, after all, they are animals.

This was warned by Andrea Milla, the official spokesperson for the French platform “Lend Me Your Dog”, which already has 70,000 users in Spain and… The system “facilitates shared care between owners who need help with their dog and people looking to meet dogs,” so anyone without a pet can “experience the responsibility of owning a pet” before committing Full time. In this way, volunteers can learn first-hand how to properly handle the animal before being tempted into “reckless adoption” of what is often mistakenly viewed as an object, when ““A dog is a living being with needs and emotions, not something that can be given as a gift.”.

This rush is translated at the beginning of the year, even on a date like this when San Anton, the patron saint of animals, is celebrated in the year.Giving away pets given as gifts at Christmas This, according to the latest study conducted by the Affinity Foundation, The number exceeded 288,000 dogs and cats collected by shelters in Spain in 2022. The availability of animal care is one reason for abandonment, but so is its economic cost, noted Eva Orten, head of marketing and communications at pet health insurance company Santivit.

Although there are officially 31 million pets in Spain, Urtin remembers that The percentage of insured animals is still very lowSo the person who wants to adopt it must take into account the necessity of investing in this regard. In addition, it is necessary to collect information on all aspects related to their care and health, not only shelter or food, but also “specific needs such as their routine or illnesses.” In this sense, Milla stated that “Enhancing public health insurance for pets would be beneficial and ease veterinary expenses for ownersand promoting responsibility in pet care,” which is why he advocated creating a government program that would make “these services more accessible.”

Regarding how the implementation of the new animal welfare law will affect them, he considers it an important step towards their protection, because although Spanish society has made great progress in respecting animals, we still face great challenges. Ortin also highlighted this new regulation as progress, though The main goal of the law is to combat animal abuse and abandonmentand it has generated other benefits such as the disappearance of the potentially dangerous category of dogs that harmed certain breeds of dogs.