People assume pets are just fun and cute, but having a pet offers many benefits. Pets matter. They help us learn about concepts such as consequences, responsibility, patience, and empathy. They also help reduce stress and loneliness while improving our mental and physical health. Pets help us as much as we help them, and it is about time that we recognise this. Zoe is a 10-year-old student, originally from Pakistan. She has lived in Shanghai for more than 7 years and really enjoy sports, specifically swimming and badminton. Zoe also love animals; she loves playing with them, learning about them and helping them, especially stray animals. For this reason, she cannot understand when people ignore the importance of animals in our lives or are cruel to them. It got her thinking - why not talk about it at TEDx. Zoe truly believe that no matter what they do … or don't, pets matter, and we won’t be the same without them. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx