Pets bring so much joy to people's lives - with most considering their furry friends to be irreplaceable family members. As humans, we have lived with domesticated animals for thousands of years, and many choose to let their pet sleep as close as physically possible - right next to them in bed. There is some debate over whether sharing a bed with your pet is harmful. The likelihood is it will not increase the risk of disease transmission or fleas already present when sharing the house with an animal, so it can be down to personal preference. We asked people in Manchester for their opinions on bed-sharing with their pets.
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00:00 Pets bring so much joy to people's lives, with most considering their furry friends
00:05 to be irreplaceable family members.
00:08 As humans, we have lived with domesticated animals for thousands of years, and many choose
00:12 to let their pets sleep as close as physically possible, right next to them in bed.
00:17 There is some debate over whether sharing a bed with your pet is harmful.
00:21 The likelihood is it will not increase the risk of disease transmission or fleas already
00:25 present when sharing the home with an animal, so it can be down to personal preference.
00:30 We asked people at Manchester for their opinions on bed sharing with their pets.
00:34 No, I don't have a pet now, but we did have and no I wouldn't let it sleep in the bed.
00:40 Health reasons, fleas, ticks, you name it.
00:44 I do let her sleep in the bed because she wants to, and it's comfortable for both of
00:49 us.
00:50 If I wake her up at four o'clock, she will then get up from under the duvet and want
00:55 her tea.
00:56 Oh I love that, so she's just chilling out all day.
01:00 Yes, all the day she'll just be tucked under and that's it.
01:04 Lola's a rag doll cat, so she's long haired, she's really fluffy, she's gorgeous, big blue
01:12 eyes.
01:13 What's not to love?
01:14 It's a matter of personal opinion, when you sleep on bed with your dog, you make them
01:21 feel at home, particularly the dogs, particularly the cats, you make them feel at home and they
01:25 can express themselves better, and they feel more loyal to their son when they sleep on
01:32 bed with the owner.
01:34 Never, that doesn't mean to say my daughter doesn't let him sleep on the bed.
01:40 Is there any reason in particular why you wouldn't?
01:43 Oh, just general hygiene and just making sure that she knows her place, so she's down on
01:50 the floor next to my bed, but not on the bed.
01:52 Do you have a pet bed?
01:53 Oh yes, yes, yes, a big black poodle, so a big standard poodle.
01:59 No, definitely not.
02:01 They carry fleas and you don't know where they've been when they've been outside, so
02:06 no, I don't think it's very hygienic.
02:09 Do you think your bed needs to stay clean?
02:12 Yes, and I want it to stay that way.
02:14 Do you have any pets?
02:15 No.
02:16 Have you ever had a pet at all?
02:18 No, I don't like them very much.
02:20 My daughter has a dog and my son has a dog, and I'm very friendly with both of them, but
02:24 they stay there, not with me.
02:26 No, I don't think I would.
02:29 It seems unhealthy, maybe get fleas from them or something.
02:34 If I had a girlfriend and she's opposed to it, I wouldn't have her put up with a dog,
02:39 that's out of the question.
02:41 Every dog person, dog people, in my experience, they do that because they need the closeness,
02:51 like hugging.
02:52 It's like for them, in some way, it's an emotional support.
02:58 It's not just the dogs that they call emotional support and support dogs, because these are
03:04 the purest creatures on earth.