Do you love your pet? "Of course!" you say. This makes perfect sense, of course, as if we choose to bring a pet into our home, it could only be because we love them.
The numbers certainly back this up. According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent more than $72 billion dollars on their pets in 2018, on everything from luxury pet gear, artisanal pet foods, and high-end spa and grooming salons, and this trend continues to rise.
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But does that translate to love? Natural Intelligence decided to test the theory and asked 650 pet owners some hard questions: Would you sell your pet if the right offer came along? Would you move for your pet? Would you still love your pet if it could talk – even if that meant it could gossip about you?
According to the findings, 14% of pet owners secretly hate people who are allergic to their pet, 73% said it angers them when people tell them how to raise their pets, 62% of people said they would move for their pet, and 17% of pet owners said their pets were a consideration when deciding to have children.
According to the findings, 14% of pet owners secretly hate people who are allergic to their pet, 73% said it angers them when people tell them how to raise their pets, 62% of people said they would move for their pet, and 17% of pet owners said their pets were a consideration when deciding to have children.
Perhaps the ultimate test of loyalty is having to put a value on something we love.
Asked, "How much do you love your pet on a scale from one to 100?" Over half of the 646 respondents gave their love for their pet a perfect score of 100. Women were over 10% more likely than men to give their pets a perfect score, as were pet-owners aged 45-60 in comparison to their younger counterparts.
It wasn't all cuddles and puppy eyes, though. Plenty of people answered below the 50-mark – including 21 people who answered in the single digits.
That said, more than 50% of respondents answered 100, and the average of all 646 respondents was a solid 85. If that's not love, it's close enough to it.
Asked, "What's the least you would sell your pet for?" the majority of respondents, 75%, said they wouldn't sell my pet for any amount. Of the remaining 25%, 166 respondents said they would sell their dog if the right offer came along, and 27 said they could be convinced for a price less than $500.
Meanwhile, 32 people said they would sell their pet for less than $1,000, 31 people named their price at less than $5,000, and 14 people said less than $10,000.
The poll also found that, if pets could talk, women respond more positively to a talking pet than men, and many pet owners believe their fluffy companions resembled Hollywood superstars.
According to the findings, most men believe their dog looks like Brad Pitt. The runners up were: Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Zooey Deschanel, Danny DeVito, Snoop Dogg, John Oliver, Carrot Top, Gene Hackman, Idris Elba, Mr. Rogers, and Joe Pesci.
Other respondents asserted their pet was unique.
Although pet owners were quick to claim they'd love their pets equally – if not more – if their pets could speak, their enthusiasm was a bit more subdued when forced to consider what their pets would actually talk about.
Almost half of pet owners (46%) said yes, they'd be afraid, with 12% of those answering that they'd be "very afraid" of what their pets could reveal about them.
To be fair, a majority (54%) claimed that they wouldn't worry. But that's quite a steep drop from the 88% of people who enthusiastically claimed they'd love their pet if it could talk.
Asked, "How much does it anger you when people tell you how to raise your pet?" an overwhelming 73% of respondents replied that it bothers them. Of those, 39% answered that it bothered them "a lot" or "a great deal." The majority fell in the middle, responding that the feedback bothered them "a moderate amount," while a smaller group replied that it only bothers them "a little."
That 27% of pet owners who don't get angry at hearing feedback are clearly in the minority. Whether it's a great deal of anger, or just minor annoyance, it's clear that most pet owners don't take kindly to being told how to raise their pet.
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