The value of adopting a shelter pet

Thank you for your Oct. 7 editorial on the need to ease pressures on struggling animal shelters.

Having volunteered and fostered, I agree that those are great ways to contribute.

Adopting a forever pet is also rewarding and impactful. If you treat the animal well, they will repay you many times over.

Studies have found pet ownership is tied to lower feelings of isolation and interacting with companion animals suppresses stress hormones.

Dog ownership has been found to reduce the risk of obesity and it cuts the risk of death from heart attack or stroke. Patting a dog has been shown to decrease blood pressure.

Multiple studies have linked cat ownership to lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. Cats are also associated with improved blood glucose control and reduced inflammation, particularly for women.

But don’t just adopt for your own sake. Adopt for all the animals who deserve a second chance.

About 7 million households will take in a new a pet in the next year. And if just 6% more of them adopted from a shelter rather than buying their pets, euthanasia rates could be brought close to zero, according to Best Friends Animal Society.

What if people shunned breeders, who are making this problem worse and encouraged their friends to spay and neuter their pets?

What if social media algorithms rewarded people for taking in ordinary-looking pets, rather than selling people on the exploitation of exotic and designer breeds?

What if every gentle person who could — and who does not already have a full house — adopted a shelter pet?

What a happier, healthier, kinder society we could have as a result.

Jennifer Shea

Skokie