Experts say hug your damn pets!

That was the message of one of the many articles I read today. We all know that there are a million headlines these days, many of them (in my opinion) aimed at increasing our anxiety and fear. Don't get me wrong, this whole pandemic thing is a big friggin deal and our little family is self isolating, but the media is a fear mongering beast! I've decided to filter and limit my news intake.

So the gist of this headline...if you've got a damn pet, hug them! A lot! Unless it's a pangolin from China that is. But seriously, our furry kiddos are more in tune with our anxieties and fears than we may be ourselves. Fortunately for them, they don't have thumbs and thus can't feverishly type ridiculous COVID-19 related phrases into the Google search bar. They can't read nor do they have too vast a vocabulary. So no matter how many articles suck you down a rabbit hole or hours of news you let play in the background, your canine or feline companion only knows one thing: their human isn't quite right.

I'm no scientist and I'm not going to cite a bunch of research, I'm just speaking from my own experience. Pets make my life better. I've owned dogs my entire adult life and I've been through some shit, we all have. From the moment I start to feel anxiety, sadness or fear creep in and one of my doggos is in the vicinity it takes seconds before they are by my side and fighting to get as close to me as possible. They just know when things aren't right in my world and they stop whatever it is they are doing (usually sleeping, and that's pretty important to a dog) to simply be physically present. They show up. In a time when we are asked to physically distance ourselves from other humans, I think how insanely fortunate I am to have two furry four legged fidos. They don't care about the world beyond our four walls but they sure as hell care about anyone who finds their way inside of them.

The common belief is that our pets (yes, even those of the feline kind) love us unconditionally. If you're lucky enough to have a four legged feline or canine companion, be sure to take a moment and thank them for showing up. With all the uncertainty in the world today it's nice to know that their love is constant and unwavering. If your life circumstances make it so that it's not possible to have a furry companion of your own, let me know. I'm sure my fellas wouldn't mind sharing the love, virtually for now. In the meantime, my recommendation is to adopt a houseplant.

Go on, what are you waiting for? Experts say to hug your damn pets!