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University Study Confirms Pets Enrich Lives

The Animal Welfare League South Australia (AWLSA) is experiencing a significant decline in animals being adopted due to financial pressure on households, but is hoping that research findings from the University of Adelaide will encourage people to enrich their lives and adopt from the AWLSA.

For the past five years, Professor Anna Chur-Hansen and colleagues from the Human-Animal Research Group at the University of Adelaide have been examining human–animal relationships and particularly how companion animals such as dogs and cats enrich the lives of the community.

Professor Chur-Hansen says “Mentally, animals serve as social supports. For many people, they are family members or friends. For some, it might be the only family or friend that person has. Where a person has a full and rewarding human social support network, animals add a further dimension.  Many people look forward to coming home from work or an outing to be welcomed by their animal”

Damien Marangon, AWLSA General Manager (Operations) says this research at the University of Adelaide strengthens the message from the AWLSA about adopting a companion animal.

“We see amazing human-animal bond stories each day here at the AWLSA but this research just reinforces our message of the benefits of adopting a dog or cat from the AWLSA.   Not only will you enrich the lives of the animals but they will give that back to you by providing unconditional love”

Professor Chur-Hansen also says that animals give a sense of purpose to people’s lives, “When people are feeling low, or going through a crisis in their life, their animal is an outside focus, something else to think about. For some people, animals are what gets them up in the morning. Adopt an animal into your life, spend time with it, build a relationship and enjoy its company and they may enrich many aspects of your life and health”

All animals ready for adoption from the AWLSA are desexed, micro chipped, vaccinated, health-checked and temperament tested.

The AWLSA is a not-for-profit organisation that receives no government funding, relying on donations to continue to care for the 20,000 lost and abandoned animals that arrive at the AWLSA each year.

Enrich your life and adopt from the AWLSA.

The AWL Adoption Centre is located at 1-19 Cormack Road, Wingfield

and is open 7 days a week from 10am – 4pm.

www.awlsa.com.au

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