Bullying and Unconditional Love from Pets. I was bullied as a child, bullied during my first marriage, and occasionally bullied at work. Bullying has long-term effects (as I describe in the book I am publishing), and fortunately, I overcame those negative effects primarily because of the unconditional love provided by cats (and dogs). Cats also provided me valuable lessons that helped build my self-esteem.
According to James Burns, producer of the Anti Bullying 101 podcast and Educational Consultant for The Bully Proof Classroom www.bullyproofclassroom.com), bullying is a national epidemic. According to government statistics, one in five students has been bullied. Specifically, 13.5% have been the subject of rumors and lies; 13% have been made fun of our called names; 5.3% have been pushed, shoved, or spit on; 3.9 percent have been threatened with harm; 1.9% have been asked to do things they wouldn’t normally do; and 1.4% have had their property destroyed. Bullying isn’t limited to schools but also occurs in relationships and at work. On December 28, James Burns interviewed me for a podcast on how pets can give us unconditional love and can help provide love and acceptance to those who are being bullied or who have been bullied. Please check out this podcast at https://anchor.fm/james-burns5/episodes/Meet-Kathy-Finley-eoca48 to see how pets (and in my case, cats) helped me overcome the adverse effects of bullying.
