New study finds having a pet feels like earning an extra $87,500 in annual income

Pet owners now know the true worth of the joy a pet brings into their lives, but it is as problematic as reassuring.

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(L) Senior man sitting on sofa, playing with dog, (R) Businessman counting money. (Representative Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) LWA, (R) Andersen Ross Photography Inc)

If relationships could be quantified in dollar values, the world would look a lot different today. A new study has estimated that owning a pet can boost our happiness, equivalent to earning an additional $87,500 in annual income, as per the study published in the journal Social Indicators Research. While that sounds interesting, there are some drawbacks to this finding that could influence pet ownership in the future. Of all the things in the world, love, hope, and kindness can never be transactional. In times like these, these words lose their inherent meaning and depreciate the quality of the relationship. Nevertheless, pet owners can agree that pets bring a significant happiness boost to their lives, often increasing life satisfaction by a substantial margin.

Teenage girl and her pets at home. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | martinedoucet)

The tad bit of extra joy that pets bring has now been quantified into a number. Not $1 million or $50,000, but a strangely specific dollar value of $87,500. It’s both reassuring and problematic. Humans tend to prioritize things that are valuable in terms of their price tags. Therefore, when our relationship with pets is reduced to dollars and cents, it risks the true worth of the bond and may alter our perspective on having pets. For instance, a person who may not feel the same joy of earning an extra income may reconsider their pet’s value in their life. This merely reduces pet animals to products and services.

A man in his home, sitting on the sofa, holding dollar money as a lottery winner. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Sean Anthony Eddy)

The study estimated the monetary value using a method called the “life satisfaction approach.” The well-meaning approach attempts to measure non-material things like friendship, love, or pet companionship in dollars, comparing them to yet another product of the economy. In the research, it is also emphasized that pets could have an impact on public health policies as well as strategies to improve the quality of life. Pets, who trust their owners with their lives, are being put into the perspective of a health intervention that shall serve human needs, similar to medication and therapy.

Black dog and cute young boy lying on the floor. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images |Catherine Falls Commercial) — Black dog and cute young boy lying on the floor. (Representative Image Source: Getty Images | Catherine Falls Commercial)

“The mere action of petting or viewing an animal has been shown to decrease blood pressure and/or heart rate,” the research stated. Pet interactions were also reported to enhance emotional health by acting as social catalysts. The “attachment theory” proposed by the scientist J. Bowlby suggests that humans need to be attached to somebody for the sake of forming and maintaining a relationship to achieve a sense of well-being. The study also took the example of a dog owner who may form increasing friendships with people in their neighborhood, with the pet acting as a social catalyst here.

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However, when animals fail to serve their owners with health benefits, they may experience welfare problems. Pets with behavioral problems, isolation, or those raised in poor environments may not be able to live up to the expectations proposed by this study, which is solely based on the human perspective. The ideal way to approach the human-animal relationship would be to consider the needs of both parties and focus on building a bond rather than the benefits it could bring.