Paws, Play, and Love: As the Year Ends, Pets Stay By Our Sides

The end of the school year is always strange, isn’t it? One day you are stressing over finals projects and assignment, while the next, you are waving goodbye to people you have seen almost every day. You begin to acknowledge how quickly time has passed. There is excitement, but also a quiet sadness hiding there amidst all the goodbyes. 

In these times of uncertainty and overwhelming feelings, pets become more than just animals. They become comfort, pets become our calm, and for many, pets become the only thing that feels like home.

They’re Always There When We Need Them

There is something so soothing about coming home after a long and exhausting day, to be met with a wagging tail, a gentle purr, or just a sleepy pet blinking slowly at you from their favorite spot. Pets don’t ask questions or judge. They are just there to help you process it all.

Pets aren’t just cute animals we adopt; they are our friends, our biggest supporters, and sometimes our therapists. Research shows that pets enhance our mental well-being, alleviate stress, elevate our mood, and even soften our hearts. Two reports from the Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and the American Psychological Association (APA), show that pets reduce anxiety, help alleviate loneliness, and even reduce levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone. As little as 10 minutes of petting a dog or cat daily correlates to a reduction in stress and an improvement in mood. A research project from Washington State University linked students’ relaxation, positivity, and time management to the petting of their pets.

Pets also teach us emotional responsibility. We feed them, we walk them, and we comfort them when they are fearful or sick. In turn, we learn patience, empathy, and consistency. We are not completing chores, but demonstrating small acts of love that help us grow and develop. 

That type of support and feeling becomes even more significant when we are experiencing life transitions such as the end of a school year. It is even more important when it involves friend drama, difficult goodbyes, or just anxiety of what the future will bring. In those times of uncertainty, where nothing is certain, pets, their love, and their support, are our reminder of things that remain constant.

ICSA Pet Stories 

We wanted to learn about what pets mean to us as a community, so we created a little survey to allow students to share their pet stories.

Every student who filled out the form said they currently own or have owned a pet. Sure, there were the usual cats and dogs, but there were also some rabbits, turtles, birds, fish, lizards, hamsters, a peacock, and even tarantulas.

However, what stood out the most were the names. Clearly a commonality for pets is food inspired names, because some names we had were: Pickles, Blueberry, Twix, Zucchini, Sprite and the most unique Attiéké. These names were not random either; each came with its story like one student shared,

“Our pineau (wine) seller had a border collie. One day, she played with the neighbor’s dog and had puppies. Only one of them was brown. We brought the fatty home and named him Pino.”

Another thing that stood out with this survey was how many students mentioned their pets were adopted from shelters. That partly meant giving a second chance to an animal that needed love, and the results were loving lifetime friends.

When Everything Feels Like It’s Changing

Saying goodbye is tough. Graduating, moving, friendships ending, or just general transience as life shifts in ways that feel mostly out of your control. Something about these events can feel overwhelming. 

Pets don’t think about any of that. They don’t care that your grades have dropped this semester, ot don’t care that your friend group is falling apart. Pets don’t care that you cried last night, or that you feel uncertain about what is next. They are there to be with you. And somehow that is enough. Their quiet presence, their goofy antics, their unwavering availability for cuddles, without any expectation of anything in return; all of it adds some level of stability in what may otherwise feel unsettling.

They remind us it’s ok to rest. To just be. That it is not necessary to have all the answers. Sometimes, love looks like a gentle nudge from a dog or a cat snuggled at your feet while you ponder what is to come.

At the end of the school year with all these transitions happening, it’s totally normal to have mixed feelings. Sadness can come easily during this time. Just remember: between all the chaos, you can find comfort in knowing you aren’t alone, because somewhere, waiting at home or sleeping next to you, is a furry or scaly little friend that doesn’t need words to show they love and care for you.