The Meaning of Pets - Owners Opinions

Predmet ovog istraživanja bio je utvrđivanje značenja koje kućni ljubimci imaju za svoje vlasnike što je i temeljni cilj istraživanja, zatim utjecaj kućnih ljubimaca na vlasnike te odnosi između kućnih ljubimaca i njihovih vlasnika. Kao istraživačka metoda koristio se polustrukturirani intervju. Istraživanjem se došlo do spoznaja o tome kako ljudi svoje kućne ljubimce smatraju emocionalnom podrškom, pridaju im veliko značenje – smatraju ih članovima obitelji, smatraju kako kućni ljubimci imaju pozitivan utjecaj na mentalno zdravlje što se vidi u smanjenju usamljenosti i stresa, postoje različita mišljenja o utjecaju kućnog ljubimca na socijalnu interakciju, neki smatraju kako kućni ljubimac pomaže u socijalnoj interakciju dok neki smatraju da nema utjecaja. Jedna od spoznaja koja se razlikuje od prethodnih istraživanja je ta da pandemija Covid-19 nije imala značajnog utjecaja na rutine s kućnim ljubimcem odnosno šetnje, zadovoljavanje potreba ljubimca i sl., no sugovornici smatraju kako im je, tijekom pandemije, kućni ljubimac pružao podršku, razbibrigu i društvo, ali isto tako i povećan stres tijekom izlaženja vani s kućnim ljubimcem radi socijalne distance.The subject of this research was to determine the meaning that pets have for their owners, which is the main goal of the research, then the influence of pets on their owners and the relationship between pets and their owners. A semi-structured interview was used as a research method. The research led to insights about how people consider their pets as emotional support, they attach great importance to them - they consider them family members, they believe that pets have a positive impact on mental health, which can be seen in the reduction of loneliness and stress, there are different opinions about the impact that pet has on social interaction, some believe that a pet helps with social interaction while others believe that it has no effect. One of the findings that differs from previous research is that the Covid-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on routines with a pet such as walks, meeting the pet's needs, etc., but the interviewees believe that, during the pandemic, pet provided them with support, relaxation and company, but also increased stress when going out for a walk due to social distancing