Pet survey reveals surprising trends - Columbia Daily Tribune

I recently ran across The American Veterinary Medical Association's pet ownership statistics and the National Pet Owners' Survey. The number of pets in American households has grown, and the comparison in what types of pets that families have is very interesting.

More homes have dogs than cats, but among families that have cats, the majority have more than one. According to the pet ownership survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association, there are more than 88 million cats in family homes and nearly 75 million dogs. Households with dogs increased from nearly 38 million in 2001 to more than 43 million in 2006, and households with cats increased from 36 million to 37 million.

The veterinary association and the pet business group's numbers disagree somewhat, but there are a lot of homes with pets no matter which survey you believe.

The top numbers of pets in households are:

Saltwater fish: more than 9 million

Reptiles: 13 million

Horses: nearly 14 million

Birds: 16 million

Small animals: more than 24 million

Dogs: nearly 75 million (72 million, according to the APPA survey)

Cats: more than 88 million (82 million, according to the APPA)

Freshwater Fish: 142 million

Aside from just numbers, I find some of the other statistics to be interesting, some puzzling and some just plain over the top.

For example, it didn't surprise me that nearly half of pet owners in 2006 considered their pets to be part of the family. But further research revealed that more than half of America's dog owners are as attached to their pets as they are to at least one other human!

Did you realize that 35 percent of dog owners say they are more attached to their dogs than to their best human friend?

How about that 18 percent say they are more attached to their dogs than their children?

Or that roughly 12 percent are more attached to their dogs than to their spouses?

About 22 percent of respondents said their dogs sleep on the bed with their owners, but 67 percent said their cats sleep on the bed — or anywhere the cats want. Spending on pets has risen from $23 billion to an estimated $43 billion in the past 10 years alone.

If you are a pet lover, the following statistics will alarm you.

We know that to find many problems, we just need to follow the money. Pets are a booming business. The amount of money spent results in harmful consequences such as over-breeding, irresponsible breeding and puppy mills.

With more homes having pets, more pets are being bred. For every human born there are seven puppies and kittens born. And more than 12 millions dogs and cats are killed in shelters each year. This does not include those that are abandoned and left to die on their own.

And it's not just "mutts" that are taken to shelters — as many as 25 percent of the dogs that go into shelters each year are purebreds.

Please consider all the options — the pros and cons of pet ownership — before you add one to your family. If you are going to have a pet, make it a part of the family. They are pack animals and are never happy being left alone outside, tied to a post with no interaction and left to live a life of isolation. If you can't include the animal into your family, go another route.

All pets take time, money and commitment.

Jim Johnson is vice president and co-founder of Happy Tails Animal Sanctuary. He can be reached at (573) 445-1680, or visit the Web site at www.htsanctuary.com.

Reach Jim Johnson at 573-445-1680 .

18 Sep, 2011

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