Why Do Many Chronicly Ill Patients have Pets?

I get to talk to people every day that have a chronic illness of some kind.  When talking about comfort measures, an often overlooked one is pets.  When I was severely ill with fibromyalgia and its coexisting conditions I had several pets that meant the world to me.  They were part of my family and my link to the world.

I lived in a two-story house and I had to go down both flights of steps to let the dogs out into the yard.  Some days it was all I could do to get up and down those steps to let them out.  I was actually wishing for a one level house, which, ironically now that I’m well, I now live in.  But going up and down those steps, and letting them outside and interacting with them, was part of the bridge that kept me in this world.

It can be very difficult for “normal” people to understand how isolating it is to have a chronic illness.  In my case, I lost my job, I lost most of my friends; my family relationships were strained, and at the worst points, the only “social” interactions I had were with health care providers.  I wasn’t shopping, going to restaurants or going to movies.  I felt like an elderly shut-in person, which is awful for anyone but, for an outgoing and friendly person such as myself, that is even more terrible.

There were times when I was so depressed and in so much pain that the only things that kept me in this world were my husband, my parents and my pets.  My sweet little pets were my non-judgmental friends that were a great comfort to me.  Petting and interacting with them was a tangible way to get some much needed social and emotional stimulation.  I was very fortunate that my husband was able to take care of the litter boxes and take the dogs for a walk.  The only thing I could do with them was let them out into our fenced back yard, as I mentioned above.

When I started to recover, my fur babies were right there with me.  In the mornings I would get up to spend some time with my husband before he left for work.  Normally, after he left, I would go back to bed, and sometimes that would be the best sleep I could get.  As I started to recover, I started sleeping normally and I didn’t have to lay down in the morning.  After my husband left in the morning, the gang would start trotting down the hall to the bedroom, but when I didn’t follow they got confused.  This was one of the signs for me that things had really changed.

One of the more “impossible” things I thought could never happen was horseback riding:  I was too heavy, my boots wouldn’t fit because my feet had grown, and my knees were shot.  Much to my surprise, after I lost 70 pounds, my feet and calves shrunk so much that my from college fit again and my knees didn’t hurt anymore.  I began taking riding lessons again and after an over 20 year hiatus I was shocked how my body remembered to ride.  It was wonderful!

I have been so well for over seven years now so all those precious pets have now gotten old and passed away.  We wanted to wait awhile before we got any more pets, but the house didn’t feel like a home without a dog and a cat.  After our last cat died we only waited three months before we got our new cat Mitzi, and after our last dog died we only waited five months before we got our new dog, Annie.

What types of comfort measures have you taken that have worked to alleviate the social and emotional isolation that having a chronic illness makes?  Also I would love to see a picture of your fur babies, preferably with you!