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Jstor Essay
Jstor Essay
Lopiccolo
Maria Lopiccolo
Professor Blackman
ENC 1101
8 October 2023
JSTOR Essay
In today’s world, pets have had a significant effect on human health and psychological
well-being, rather than just being a furry friend. The articles “The Impact of Pets on Human
Health and Psychological Well-Being: Fact, Fiction, or Hypothesis?” and “Pets and Mental
Health” talk about the benefits of pets to mental and human health.
Harold Herzog in “The Impact of Pets on Human Health and Psychological Well-Being:
Fact. Fiction, or Hypothesis?,” uses logos and context. Herzog uses logos by showing statistics
and studies that have been done to show human-animal relationships and the effectiveness for
human and mental health (Herzog 238). Herzog does not use any personal convictions to claim
that companion animals are good for them, because it has no scientific evidence (236). The
possible audience of this article would be possible pet owners, researchers, and psychologists.
Herzog’s purpose of his article is to inform the audience about the “pet effect,” “the idea that
living with an animal can improve human health, psychological health, and longevity” and gives
reasons how it can both be true and false in different circumstances to allow the audience to
make up their own mind (236). The constraints of these texts are accessibility, exposure and
popularity. Accessibility, exposure and popularity are constraints because the text is only on the
JSTOR database, which costs money for nonstudents or teachers to subscribe and read the
articles. In turn the exposure and popularity of the article is not as high as a free article would be.
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Hugh Grady in “Pets and Mental Health” uses pathos and background to persuade the
readers of his opinion. The use of pathos was employed by Grady throughout the entire article.
Grady states that he is a “recovering alcoholic and drug addict and a history of depression”
(Grady 70). By him stating this he uses pathos to evoke emotion, whether it be pity, a feeling of
understanding, or relating to his situation. Grady wants to evoke emotion by using pathos so that
he can persuade the audience of his view that “no matter the context, pets have a positive effect
on the mental health and well-being of their owners” (71). The possible audience of this article
would be possible pet owners, researchers, and psychologists. The constraints of this text are
bias, accessibility, and exposure. Grady only explores the view that pets have a positive effect on
the mental health and well-being of their owners. One constraint is that Grady never mentions
that there could be ways that a pet could not affect the mental health or well-being of their
owners at all or could negatively affect the owner’s mental health. Accessibility and exposure are
another constraint because the article “Pets and Mental Health” is only on the JSTOR database,
which costs money for nonstudents or teachers to subscribe and read the articles. In turn the
Both articles, “The Impact of Pets on Human Health and Psychological Well-Being: Fact.
Fiction, or Hypothesis?” by Harold Herzog and “Pets and Mental Health” by Hugh Grady,
approach the subject of whether pets help mental health and physical health in different ways.
While Herzog’s article focuses on logos through statistics and studies, Grady’s article focuses on
pathos and evoking the emotions of the audience to agree that pets have a positive effect on
mental health or well-being of their owners. Herzog’s article also gives the ways that “pet effect”
could be inconclusive and how having a pet could have no impact or even a negative effect on
human physical health or mental health (Herzog 237). While the articles have major differences,
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there are also some similarities. For example, both articles talk about the positive effects that pets
have on human physical and mental health. Another similarity is that both articles quote
scientific research, however Herzog’s article relies more upon scientific research than Grady’s
article. Both articles also give examples on how pets have helped their owners mental and
physical health. For example, in Herzog’s article he mentions “among 11,000 German and
Australian adults, pet owners were in better physical condition than non-pet owners” (237). In
Grady’s article he talks about a personal experience where he was in a state of depression, a
recovering alcoholic and drug addict, his journey with his dog Bix, and how much of a positive
The most useful academic article for research is “The Impact of Pets on Human Health
and Psychological Well-Being: Fact. Fiction, or Hypothesis?" by Harold Herzog. There are many
reasons that Herzog’s article is more useful than Grady’s article, “Pets and Mental Health”. One
reason is because Herzog uses all scientific research to inform the audience, while Grady uses
mostly opinion to support his claim. Another reason why Herzog’s article is more useful is
because Herzog showed both views on how pets are good for people, how pets could have
As of 2023, 66% of American households own a pet, which is a significant increase over
the past three decades. As mental and physical health is more talked about in recent years, these
articles are a good source of information for both pet owners and non-pet owners alike. Further
research could be done to see if the increase in pet ownership is in direct relation to how pets
Megna, Michelle, and Ashlee Tilford. "Pet Ownership Statistics 2023." Forbes Advisor, 23 Jul.
2023, www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-ownership
statistics/#:~:text=to%20pet%20ownership%3A-,As%20of%202023%2C
%2066%25%20of%20U.S.%20households%20(86.9%20million,acquired%20pets
%20during%20the%20pandemic.
Herzog, Harold. "The Impact of Pets on Human Health and Psychological Well-Being: Fact,
Science, vol. Vol. 20, no. No.4, 2011, pp. 236-239, https://doi.org/Sage Publications, Inc.
Grady, Hugh. "Pets and Mental Health." GPSolo, vol. Vol. 26, no. No.5, 2009, pp. 70-71,