European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 27, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine influence of pets reaches new High by Lena Williams new York times Urry. Feathered or firmed if an animal could possibly to a Pel chance1 8 0 someone in the United Stales is housing in lobbying for in. Profiting irom it or studying its died in it human psycho and physiology never before have so Man taken so much Comfort or made so much Polit from pals. Pel ownership is at an All Lime High with 61 Porcell of american households about 52.5 million owning animals in most cases More than Cne animal according to the pet Industry advisory Council a lobbying group in Washington the Council said sales of pets and related goods and services Arr Cunt cd to �1 6 Bullion in 1987, up irom $1.2 Bullion in 232 while Iho importance of pets to humans mental health has been documented the National institutes of health in Bethesda us. Has reported thai pets May play a crucial role in people s physical a cell bomb too according to the re Pom which summarized studies by researchers around the country Pels can influence head i rate and blood pressure provide patients in wheelchairs with a source of social stimulation that in some cases is generally Moro reliable than that of human companions inducing spouses siblings or therapists and improve the emotional state and behavioural patterns of prisoners and Iho elderly partly because of this link animals have become a cause cel Bro. Congress receives More mail concerning the use of animals in Laboratory experiments than any other subject said or. Charles Mccarthy head of the office for Protection from research risks at he n . The mail runs 100 to 1 against the inhumane use of animals in research. So important have pets become in the United states that the n . Study group recently recommended counting them in the 1990 census and in All other government sponsored projects involving human behaviour. This in t craziness said or. Alan Beck a member of the group by its show pervasiveness and cultural acceptance interactions with Pel animals is on inherent part of Normal  people Are turning to Pels More often these Days for several reasons 1 the increasing urbanization and alienation within our society leads to a loneliness that the often fulfilled by animals said or. Elizabeth  Lawrence a Massac Huells veterinarian and anthropologist who has studied the relationship Between humans and animals. Adding to Iho phenomenon is the changing Structure of the traditional family unit children in families where both parents work Are often Given pets so that there is some War blooded animal to come Home  Lawrence said. Psychologists suggest that Many americans Are recognizing the benefits of pet companionship and Are turning to them to lilt social and emotional voids in their lives. And people Are not just buying customer makes friends with a cockatoo at a Manhattan pet shop. The typical domesticated ones either considering the $22.9 million spent on reptiles and amphibians last year. Industry figures show that older people Are buying More pots and that a majority of Pel buyers Are women 53-2 percent last year compared with 56.9 percent in 1986. Fish arc i no pets o Choice in the United Stales last year $222.8 million Worth of Pel fish were sold nationally making Thorn the nation s second most popular Hobby after photography. Five percent to 10 percent of the population keep some species of fish in an aquarium at Home or the Oldie according to the pet Industry experts note thai fish Are easier to care Tor than cals or dogs Many of whom Are abandoned during vacation or when their owners move. With the surge in pet ownership has come major growth in pet oriented businesses and services including psychiatrists for Pels and Counselor Lor owners grieving Over dead or Tost animals. A computerized network helps recover lost or stolen animals through specially designed tattoos. Nearly a dozen mail order companies Are now uttering products that have nol been tested on mammals or Are free of animal byproducts Pels Aro a pan of the extended family said or Alan Entin a family psychologist  has studied the role of pals in Tho family and in psychotherapy. We treat our Pels As if they Are the same As human beings. In Many families pets Are afforded the same rights and responsibilities and importance As a  such is the Case with Marcia Smith a nurse in Washington. For years her friends thought she was a single Parent Only to learn that the two girls she constantly talked about were poodles. They re not just  Smith said. I think of them As my  some pet owners no longer consider these animals to be pets at All. We think it s too  said Mildred Braverman a Secretary and animal rights advocate in Manhattan. We prefer she term companion animals other animal owners May not Call their Pels companions bul in every other sense they Otten treat them As such. Ninety nine percent of dog and cat owners say they talk to their Pels according to a random nationwide Survey by the Center or the interaction of animals and society. The study conducted by Telephone through questionnaires and in of site interviews each year since 1960, has involved a Lott of about 1,000 pet owners. 11 found thai 40 percent of the respondents kept pictures of their pets in their wallets and celebrated their Pel s birthdays. This passion Lor Pels is raising interest in the humane treatment of Alt animals. The 1988 edition of the encyclopedia of associations lists 69 animal rights or welfare organizations and humane societies some Wilh memberships of 500,000. More than 30 animal rights lobbyists Are registered in Washington As against a dozen or so in 1978, according 1o the office of Public records Al the United slates Senate. Consider too these recent events in Princo William county in Maryland 3 Young woman spent live Days in jail alter refusing to turn Over her pet Lerret which authorities feared May have been the animal thai bit a 5 year old boy in May who later tested Posi Livo Tor rabies. In order to Dut Armine whether the animal was Rabid authorities would have had 10 kill it. Alter 200 ferret enthusiasts protested Al a Board of supervisors hearing county officials backed away irom a proposal to ban ferrets As pets altogether. The California legislature recently passed a Law allowing students to be excused from classroom and fab work thai involves killing animals Lor experimental or educational purposes of students object on religious or moral grounds. The slate s action stemmed irom a Case in which the Grade of a High school senior in los Angeles was lowered after she refused to dissect a Frog in biology class. She was allowed to View photographs of a dissected Frog instead lest september officials in Takoma Park mended a longstanding policy of handing out ra1 Poison to homeowners instead officials Olferd traps that capture animals Wilhour harming them. Dog fighting is now a felony in 34 states including new York it was once a Misdemeanour. A Lew states including new York new Jersey and Connecticut. Have updated the language in animal cruelly statutes to protect stray animals tuesday september 27, 1988 the stars and stripes Page 13