New Companion Animal Humanisation Research Revealed
The results of the Pets are Human Too study of 3,000 British dog and cat owners identifies the traits common to companion animals and people, and people’s attitudes about these characteristics.
According to survey results, 32% of dog and cat owners say their companion animal is a better listener than their human partner, and 15% say they love their companion animal so much that they use their companion animal’s image as their own in their Facebook profile pictures. In addition, one quarter of respondents have a picture of their companion animal on their office computer screen-saver.
Also of note, one third of respondents would rather give their animals a human name as opposed to a “pet” name. One out of five owners sign greeting cards with their companion animal’s paw print, while another one in ten throws their companion animal a birthday party, inviting over other companion animal friends.
Further, 9% of companion animal owners say they tell their companion animal personal secrets they otherwise would not have shared with their best human friends, while 10% believe their companion animal has psychic powers or shares the personal traits of a deceased loved one.
An estimated 41% of companion animal owners believes that their companion animal loves them more than their partner, while 24% say they would rather spend quality time with their companion animals over their husband or wife.