Where Our Dogs & Cats Come From

Bandit

During a presentation by a pet food company, I found the following statistics regarding how people acquire their dogs and cats quite interesting. Look at where they come from:

To me, this chart makes so much sense. People think of their pets as members of the family, so it’s only natural that they try to find good homes for the animals they can’t take care of, or kittens and puppies that need to be adopted. I’m not surprised that the largest percentage of pets are acquired through friends and family members.

The fact that an equal number of dogs and cats come from shelters is not surprising either. When people think of going out to get a pet, this is probably where they go whether they want a dog or a cat. They want to save an animal and give it a good home.

I see that more stray cats are taken in than dogs. Though this may seem surprising at first, it isn’t really. Dogs usually have identifying tags, leashes and microchips to identify them if they get off their leashes. Cats, who often tend to stray or are left behind when owners move away, aren’t returned to their homes so easily. I’m just glad that according to this chart, many of these stray cats are taken in.

Not many people buy cats and dogs at pet stores. I never have. I think of pet stores as the place to get guinea pigs, hamsters and fish.

I was surprised by the number of people who get dogs from a breeder. Not many cat people are that interested in pure-breds apparently, but people like dogs with papers. Guess that’s why dog shows are so big.

When I think about my own pets, this chart is right on the money. We got our dog from a foster shelter. One of our cats was from my step-sister, and the other from my mom. She has three dogs of her own:  two from a shelter, and the other was a stray. We’re just average American families, right down to our pets, aren’t we?