The Healing Power of Pets: How Love Goes Both Ways

I have had pets my whole life. They have always been more like friends than anything else. I talk to them, sleep with them, walk with them, and watch TV with them. I have had pets who I have trusted to watch my kids more than I trusted a babysitter! Really!

My pets have been intuitive, loyal, and protective. One day, my daughter came home from school in tears because some kids had been mean to her. Our dog, Bentley, walked over, placed his paws gently on her shoulders, and softly licked her tears away. No words. Just comfort.

Moments like that reveal the incredible bond between humans and animals.

The Mental Health Benefits of Pets

Research supports what many pet owners already know: pets can reduce blood pressure and lower cortisol levels. Their unconditional, nonjudgmental presence helps ease anxiety, depression, and feelings of loneliness. Physical touch — like cuddling a pet — releases oxytocin, a hormone that boosts mood and reduces stress.

Studies have also shown that interacting with pets may increase immunoglobulin A, which helps strengthen the immune system. According to Psychology Today, pets:

• Provide comfort and emotional support during life’s challenges
• Influence our biochemistry in ways that enhance well-being
• Connect with us deeply through shared neurological pathways

The human–animal bond is not imagined. It is biological, emotional, and deeply real.

When Keith Needed Me

As much as pets help us, they need us too.

Not many people know this, but Keith has his own medical challenges. He has been battling diabetes for years, which has caused neuropathy in his legs and affected his bladder. Thankfully, he does well on medication, including insulin injections twice a day.

Every so often, he experiences a flare-up, and it becomes difficult to keep him comfortable and clean. His care requires dedication, love, and patience. I regularly ask the veterinarians whether his quality of life is still good. The last thing I want is for him to live in pain. They reassure me that as long as he is eating, cuddling, and staying active, he is okay.

Still, injecting insulin into a cat can be…well… interesting.

Last week, Keith had a flare-up that frightened me. I rushed him to the animal hospital. He didn’t seem well, and the vet shared my concern. I feared this might be the day I would have to let him go.

Instead, the doctor suggested we try a new medication and monitor him at home.

For two days, Keith mostly slept. He wasn’t himself. I cleaned up after him and quietly prepared my heart for what I thought might be the end. I cried myself to sleep, embarrassed by the depth of my despair over a cat. It felt difficult to explain to anyone else that Keith was not “just a pet.” He was my friend. He had helped me through some of the hardest moments of my life. I loved him — and always will.

The next day, I held him like a baby and cried again.

Keith looked at me with steady eyes, and I swear I could almost hear his thoughts: I’m fine. Let me down. I have cat things to do.

I placed him on the floor. He walked to his food bowl, ate, meowed for more food, ate again, and then took a nap.

Keith was fine.

Loving Fully Is Always a Risk

Loving someone — human or animal — with all your heart is scary. Their pain becomes your pain. And sometimes, your pain becomes theirs.

But that shared vulnerability is also what makes love so powerful.

Caring for another being is not a small thing. It requires patience, sacrifice, and emotional courage. I am deeply aware of how my husband and children carry my pain when I struggle. Love moves in both directions.

I am grateful — for my family, for my friends, and for my beautiful Keith the Cat.

The healing power of pets is real. Sometimes they carry us. And sometimes, when they are weak, we carry them.

And that is a beautiful relationship.