I spent all week agonizing over topics for this last column. It was finally suggested to me that I write about why I love animals, and why they are so important to me.

Unfortunately, maybe my answer is too simple to fill an entire column. I love animals because they love people. They don’t have to, they just do. Our pets love us unconditionally and the only reason is that we exist.

I read an article recently in the July 17 edition of the Ames Daily Tribune titled “Pampered Pets.” One of the main focuses of the article is a woman who has someone walk and spend time with her dog while she is at work.

The article made it sound like what she does for her pet is extreme. I think it’s wonderful and normal. What she does for her dog is not extreme. She is simply trying to make her pet’s life a little better. All she does is the same thing her dog does for her.

Pets enhance the quality of our lives, it’s a proven fact. People with severe medical problems often show improvement after adding a pet to their daily regimen of medications. It has been shown that the simple act of petting a dog can decrease heart rate and blood pressure.

So why not go that extra step for our pets? I have encountered too many people who neglect their animals.

Food, water and shelter just aren’t enough by themselves. All too many people think that the essentials for survival are all they need to give their pet. What’s the point, then? If you get a pet for reasons other than companionship, why bother? You might as well get sea monkeys, you don’t even have to feed them.

Humans chose to domesticate animals thousands of years ago, and when they chose to do so, they put a great responsibility on themselves. But today, animal neglect is occurring everywhere, and little is being done to stop it.

People still run puppy mills, leaving dogs in cramped, dirty enclosures for the sole purpose of breeding. Iowa is one of the largest areas of puppy mills in the country. Dogs and cats are constantly being found in filthy conditons, malnourished and dying.

People who are prosecuted for these crimes are usually given little more than a slap on the wrist.

Cases of animal neglect really show us how important it is to go that extra mile for your pet. If you simply love and care for your pet, that love will be returned to you a thousand-fold.

I never knew how much my animals meant to me until I had to leave them. When I came to Iowa three years ago, my cocker spaniel and black lab stayed with my family in California. It was hard to come home and have no one there to jump around with excitement for the single purpose that I was home.

I always felt a huge void in my life without my dogs. And then I met Grace. She sauntered into my life a few months ago, a scroungy, stray cat, and has blossomed into a shimmering beauty. She meows like crazy every time I walk in the door.

Sure, it’s mostly because she wants me to feed her, but it’s nice to hear anyway. She asks to be petted with a nudge of her head, and she wakes me up bright and early in the morning (yes, to be fed again).

Adding another pet to my life has made a difference. I have a constant companion, and anything I can do for her will never compare to everything she has given to me.

To me, there is little that is more precious than my pets.

My message is to love your pet as it loves you. Don’t ask for anything, don’t expect anything, because it expects nothing from you.

Julie Hansen is a senior in zoology/pre vet from Monterey, California.