The survey, commissioned by pet food company “I and Love and You” and conducted by the market research company OnePoll, surveyed 2,000 pet-owning adults.
Seventy-two percent of all respondents were both pet owners and parents, and 34% of that subset admitted their pet was their preferred child. The survey also found that 67% of all respondents considered their pet to be their best friend, while 78% said that their dog or cat, specifically, was considered an equal family member.
More than half of respondents (54%) also said that their pet understands them on a deeper level than their best friend or significant other, while 68% said that spending time with their pet after a hard day makes them feel better than hanging out with fellow humans like family members or friends.
In fact, 40% of the survey participants revealed that their pet helped them get through hard times, while 40% also said that their pet was a source of comfort while going through relationship issues. Of the surveyed group, 38% also said that their pet has helped them through medical woes.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Around 40% of participants willingly referred to themselves as “pet fanatics,” while 17% even said they had created a social media account for their pet.
Out of the self-proclaimed “pet fanatics,” 42% said they had thrown their pet a birthday party, while another 42% admitted to having purchased clothes or accessories for their best animal friend. Forty-one percent of fanatics also admitted they spend more money on their pet’s food than on their own, and 40% of fanatics said their pet joins them in bed at night. Forty-one percent of all respondents also said they prepare their pet’s food at home from scratch.
And 68% of all participants agreed with the phrase, “Pets are people, too.”“Pets are more than just a companion; they love us unconditionally and make us want to be better people,” Lindsey Rabaut, vice president of marketing for “I and Love and You,” said in a recent statement. “A pet’s love brings out the best in all of us.”