Pets are People Too According to Most Americans
Bottom Line: Is your pet on par with your child? How about your spouse? If you’re single how about siblings or parents? Some have said it. Some have even sung it. The long existing phrase “pets are people too” has stood the test of time. But how much do most people really mean it when they say it? As the headline of this story suggests, it turns out that it’s most of us. Recently the Pew Reasearch Center studied our collective passion for our pets and found most pet owners see their pets as being as much part of their family as a human member. Across all pet owners a whooping 97% say they view their pets as part of their family (you feel bad for the pets of the 3%). But it’s the next level question that made this especially interesting. Pew followed up by asking people if they view their pets to be as much a part of their family as a human member. Across all pet owners 51% said yes.
As you might imagine there are demographic differences that came into play with how people responded. Here are those who mostly say pets aren’t as much of the family as a human:
- Men
- Married couples
- Parents
- Upper income earners
Here are those who say pets are on par with human family members:
- Women
- Lower income earners
- Those who live in urban areas
- Single/Divorced/Widowed
- Without children
- Dog owners
While those are generalities it’s worth noting that at least 42% of all people of all demographics and life circumstances perceive their pets to be on par with human family members which is why even with a majority of men and married couples saying pets aren’t quite on par with humans – most Americans still do. So, what say you? Do you consider your pets to be people too (or at least as much of the family as your least favored member of it)?