Top ten superpowers of pets
We all know they hold us hostage with their irresistibly addictive superpowers and unconditional love. Here’s what we think are the top ten pet superpowers. Let’s celebrate the best friends and therapists in our lives: our pets!
1. Empathetic friend
They know when we are down, nervous, angry, sick, and in need of support. Sometimes there’s silent, intuitive eye contact between pet and owner. Our pets sidle up close and sit patiently, waiting out the low moments.
2. Wellbeing facilitator
Pets are medicine for our soul and, as plenty of research has found, for our physical health as well. They are a magnificent form of therapy, potentially helping humans live longer.
Their warm fur, steady breath, innate ability to enter a completely relaxed state, and desire to be with us, feeds our needs as humans.
The presence of a pet can calm anxiety, soften depression, boost mood, alleviate isolation, accelerate recovery from illness, and help humans reconnect with themselves and the world.
3. Noble support worker
Dogs can be trained to support people with disabilities, aid mental health therapy, and make amazing companions for kids with anxiety or additional needs. Dogs provide support in schools, hospitals, aged care facilities, and even prisons. Cats can make great emotional support animals too.
4. Dutiful life saver
Their powerful sense of smell means they have the potential to save lives. Dogs can be trained to detect cancer, spikes in blood sugar levels, and imminent health events such as strokes, seizures and heart attacks.
Dogs also work with life guards and are useful members of search and rescue teams.
Cats have been known to protect their family from dog attacks or intruders, sniff out gas leaks, and alert their family to pending emergencies.
5. Loyal security guard
Dogs protect the family (the pack) and will defend the den if necessary. Warning barks when ‘strangers’ approach the house make us feel secure. Walking at night or early in the morning feels a lot safer if the pooch comes along.
Cats like to guard their owners as part of their territory. Guarding is a sign of affection from a cat and is expected behaviour.
6. Diligent detective
Dogs are superior sniffers. This superpower sees them employed as detection dogs and police dogs to locate and identify things like illicit substances, contraband, currency or blood.
They can also sniff out cancer and illness, wildlife scat (for conservation purposes), and track lost humans.
7. Bionic listener
Thanks to their predatory heritage, cats and dogs have impressive hearing. Dogs whose ears still work well can hear sounds anywhere between 25m and 1.6km away. They have particularly supercharged hearing for high-pitched and soft sounds that humans can’t hear.
Cats’ ears act like a sophisticated satellite dish turning up to 180 degrees to pick up the faintest of signals. They can locate and identify barely audible squeaks, chirps or scuffling noises.
8. Night vision ninja
Dogs have rod-dominated retinas that allow them to see well in the dark. They also have excellent motion visibility. Thanks to the positioning of their eyes (about 20 degrees to the side of their head) they have good peripheral vision.
Cats have better vision at dawn and dusk than at night. They require some level of light to see, but only need one-sixth of the light humans do, and can see well in very low light.
9. Storm tracker
Cats and dogs use all of their senses when they feel a storm coming. They can pick up barometric pressure changes which can alert them to pending changes in the weather.
10. GPS specialist
Research has shown that cats and dogs have an internal compass that helps them find their way back to a given location, even over long distances, through unfamiliar territory, and without landmarks.