PUPILS from Alva Primary School helped researchers uncover the benefits of caring for a family pet.

The Scottish SPCA with the University of Edinburgh published a paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health about young people's emotional attachment to pet animals.

Responses from local students revealed that encouraging children to participate in pet care behaviour can promote high emotional attachments, leading to a range of positive outcomes for both kids and animals.

Ultimately, the findings show that kids who care for a pet may be less likely to be cruel to animals.

Dr Jo Williams, senior lecturer in clinical and health psychology at the university, said: “Our finding that children are highly attached to their pets is important because attachment to pets has a positive impact on children’s mental health and wellbeing.

“By encouraging children to take an active caring role for pets within families we can promote pet attachment, child wellbeing and animal welfare.”

The majority of youngsters were emotionally attached to their pets regardless of their background.

Roxanne Hawkins, PhD student, added: “This research focused on the emotional and friendship aspects of childhood attachment to pets and showed that children viewed their pets as their best friend, reporting that they would be lonely without them and that they felt that their pet knew when they were upset and tried to comfort them.”

Girls proved to be more attached to their pets than boys and youngsters reported higher fondness towards dogs and cats compared to other animals.

In a survey to help the researchers, nine-year-old youngster Lachlan said of his two dogs Cassie and Kalah: “They are fluffy, cute and cuddly and they are special to me because I remember them as puppies.”

The subject is largely under researched with Gilly Mendes Ferreira, head of education and policy at the Scottish SPCA, saying the animal welfare charity is actively promoting positive pet care through its education programme, which was delivered to 300,000 youngsters last year.

She added: “Our interactive programme encourages children to think about what animals need and they learn how they can be responsible towards animals they come across including their pets.”