A dog really is your best friend, a new study shows

A new study conducted by Boomerang highlights the starring roles that animals play within families, on and off-screen.

Boomerang Africa, the channel and home of world-renowned animal characters such as Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo and Bugs Bunny, has released the results of a study looking at the role pets and animals play in family life.

Whether on-screen in their favourite cartoon or TV show, an activation off-screen, or as part of their daily interaction with a family pet, it’s clear that kids and parents alike enjoy a regular dose of humour thanks to the planet’s furry (and scaly!) friends.

Conducted in six countries (South Africa, France, Italy, Sweden, Turkey and the UK), the study showed that locally, 72% of SA families laugh at least once a day because of something their pet does, citing kissing, licking or chasing someone or something, hiding and jumping out at someone and human-like behaviour as the most common causes of laughter.

The most common reasons parents cited for getting a family pet was to teach their children about responsibility.

The survey revealed that SA kids do the most pet-related chores compared to other countries: they were the most likely to play with, but also clean up after their pets. Added to this, 41% of parents claimed their pet had brought the family together, 44% said their pet reduced stress and 25% felt their pet had made family members more caring.

An amazing 67% of children consider their pets to be their best friend. Furthermore, with a whopping 89%, the most common family pets proved to be dogs, followed by cats, fish and birds across urban and rural South Africa.

Dogs, cats, and “pocket pets” such as ferrets, birds, or lizards are therapeutic for children who struggle with any disability: physical, behavioural and developmental.

Dogs are regularly cited as having a natural affinity with humans and have been known to reduce depression and anxiety.

Claire Voges, social worker and animal-assisted practitioner at Pawz and Play says: “The benefits of interacting with a companion animal, especially a dog, have been well researched.

“The health benefits are reciprocal: both the dog and the human, after interacting, have increased levels of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. These are the happy chemicals that are released in the brain.”

Looking at the impact of onscreen animals, 59% of SA parents let their children watch TV shows and videos featuring animals because they educate about nature. – Citizen reporter