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posted by martyb on Sunday October 01 2017, @11:59AM   Printer-friendly
from the Bow-Wow-Meow-Squeak! dept.

The recent popularity of "designer" dogs, cats, micro-pigs and other pets may seem to suggest that pet keeping is no more than a fad. Indeed, it is often assumed that pets are a Western affectation, a weird relic of the working animals kept by communities of the past.

About half of the households in Britain alone include some kind of pet; roughly 10m of those are dogs while cats make up another 10m. Pets cost time and money, and nowadays bring little in the way of material benefits. But during the 2008 financial crisis, spending on pets remained almost unaffected, which suggests that for most owners pets are not a luxury but an integral and deeply loved part of the family.

Some people are into pets, however, while others simply aren't interested. Why is this the case? It is highly probable that our desire for the company of animals actually goes back tens of thousands of years and has played an important part in our evolution. If so, then genetics might help explain why a love of animals is something some people just don't get.

[...] The pet-keeping habit often runs in families: this was once ascribed to children coming to imitate their parents' lifestyles when they leave home, but recent research has suggested that it also has a genetic basis. Some people, whatever their upbringing, seem predisposed to seek out the company of animals, others less so.

Is the desire to keep pets really hard-wired in our DNA?


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  • (Score: 3, Touché) by krishnoid on Sunday October 01 2017, @08:56PM

    by krishnoid (1156) on Sunday October 01 2017, @08:56PM (#575672)

    Every single home that involves pets is filthy.
    What's that? You have a dog and your house is perfectly clean? No, it is not; your house is filthy - you're just oblivious.

    Every single home that involves humans can also be considered filthy, at some level.

    Perhaps people who can maintain their health even in animal squalor are more likely to succeed in propagating their genes; hence, people are attracted to living with (and therefore living like) animals have had a genetic advantage.
    Also, dealing with an animal prepares one to deal with children, who are pretty much just as messy as the lower forms of life that people call pets.

    In one case, exposure in the early years may even potentially improve [nih.gov] one's health later on.

    Throw out the code of this website and re-write it. It's total shit.

    Exposure to feces is generally detrimental to one's health, but again, there are exceptions [nih.gov]. However, I'll refrain from suggesting specific actions.

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