In stores, such as Hallmark and Walmart, people are able to purchase a Perfect Petzzz Realistic “Breathing” and Sleeping Kitty Pet Set. Younger kids walk by amused at the authentic-looking animal, but is this “toy” really made for children’s entertainment? Or, can toy pets actually impact humans in the same way as real pets? These toy pets have potentially been created to serve our emotional needs just as a real pet would, but without the extraneous work of a live pet.  Both, however, are certainly good for the soul. 

 About 12,000 years ago, the domestication of animals began spreading throughout the world. Wolves—the first dogs—were kept in caves with ancient North Siberians. Agricultural communities began to domesticate larger animals such as cattle, horses, and sheep. Now, dogs, cats, and fish are a few different kinds of pets kept in people’s houses instead of larger animals. Growing up with pets, living near a farm or animal shelter, or having a family member with a pet results in the pet legacy continuing, but there is an evident comfort and bond between humans and animals that goes way beyond just having a pet. 

Not only do pets provide companionship, but they also support our mental needs. According to Lawerence Robinson in the article “The Health and Mood-Boosting Benefits of Pets,” having an animal, alive or a toy version, around can not stop mental illness, but can reduce or deflate the amount of stress, anxiety, or depression someone is dealing with. 

Most of the mental health reductions from house pets come from physical touch. Feeling the fur, or perhaps scales, of an animal can set off a feeling of comfort. The soft-touch of the fur provides a stream of amenity, traveling through the bloodstream. A dog licking your face fills the body with a sense of laughter or distraction from your emotions. Not only does feeling the fur, or scales, relieve a human, but touching the animals also sets off an alarm in their brain. The pet reacts as the human reacts. For example, when a kitten is getting pet, it gives off a purring sound which relaxes the owner and causes their tense mental status to shrink.  These Perfect Petzzz simulate the same purring and breathing sounds that soothe emotional distress. 

Most reported results were reduced anxiety, depression, and stress as the result of having a physical touch and a connection with a pet. It has been proven that the touching of pets has reduced the number of symptoms for these mental health disorders in humans, such as panic attacks, unhealthy thinking patterns, and smaller symptoms like heavy breathing. The pet’s touch is a distraction. Anxiety is all about thinking something is going to happen before it happens. Distracting these thoughts from flowing in the human mind slowly drifts the anxious thoughts away. 

All pets have their own personality. It’s like they’re their own human. This research goes back to the Perfect Petzzz. People who are alone tend to get pets for companionship and support. Therefore, pets can aid with feelings of isolation, social anxiety, and loneliness. Their presence brings light to the room after loved ones have been lost or if parents have traveled away from home away from their children. Women and men can purchase the Perfect Petzzz as a replacement for real pets. This is a perfect second option. 

The realistic “breathable” creature provides company and gives people comfort, much like a real pet.