 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(February 2022) |
Pet culture refers to the culture revolving around the interaction of humans and pets. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Modern day society has integrated animals into their everyday lives. [5] Today, American families have said that their non-working, indoor animals are close enough to call them family. [6] Many owners post photos and videos of their pets on social media to entertain other animal lovers. The relationship between sharing and watching has shown an increase in interest for pet owning. [7] This increase in pet owning has impacted cat and dog populations within the animal community. Within mid-1960’s century America, their population has grown an impeccable amount compared to the human population. An average of 63% of American households have one pet, while 45% have multiple. [6] Increase in pets have impacted the increasing number of veterinarians. [5]
Before the 1900’s, ownership of a pet was restricted to certain social classes who had the income to care for it. [8] With modern day technology and medicine, the average lifespan of pets has changed. Indoor cats, on average, will live up to 13–14 years. [9] While indoor dogs, on average, will live up to 6–10 years. [10] Pet-keeping can be cost heavy. Throughout the average life of a pet in the United States, the owner may spend on average between $8,000 to $13,000. [6] Pets may be kept for either nothing more than companionship or to also serve as working animals.
Pets have also gained more popularity in places of employment. [11] Office pets are animals that live in or visit the workplace. Usually office pets belong to the company but may also be the personal pet of the CEO or owner, office manager, or another employee. [12] In addition to office pets, there are also Pet-friendly work environments, where employees can bring their pets from home to work with them. [13]
The practice of having office pets and/or pet-friendly work environments has been known to occur in big businesses, medium-sized businesses, and small businesses. [14] [15] Reasons as to why a business would have an office pet include boosting employee morale, reducing stress and improving health, drawing in and recruiting new employees, improving communication and collaboration between coworkers, attracting customers and clients, and improving public relations between the business and the community. [16] Additionally, business leaders have cited multiple advantages to having pet-friendly work environments such as improving company culture, boosting productivity, reducing employee turnover, boosting employer brand, improving employee satisfaction, boosting the mental and physical health of workers and giving employees more flexibility. [17]
In the United States, the estimate of households that have dogs as pet is about 69 million. [18] Nowadays, owners that have dogs have considered them their best friend and a part of their family. Owners that have suffered from mental illness, loneliness, and distress have lightly eased with the help of their dogs. Human and dog relationships have now been more emotional than practical. In the past, humans owned dogs for work purpose. Small dogs were used to scare off pest, while larger dogs were used for protection and identify danger. [19] Other important jobs that people have used dogs to perform include, among other things, hunting for game, search and rescue for missing persons, herding of livestock and serving as therapy dogs for people. [20]
In the United States, there is an estimate of 45.3 million households that own a cat. [18] In the past, humans owned cats for work purposes. The most common job for cats is killing or scaring off vermin such as pigeons and rodents. Additionally, cats (particularly puppy cats) have also been used as protection animals for their owners. [21] [22] Another job cats have been known to perform for humans is serving as therapy cats for people. [23] Between cats and dogs, cats have been known to be the opposite of how dogs act. Cats are seen to be more independent and tend to themselves. Many believe that cats are only with humans for their own benefits, such as eating. Nowadays, this idea has changed as cats are known to change their performance based on how their owners act towards them. The type of cat, character, and its history impacts their behavior. [24]
In the United States, there is an estimate of 5.3 million households that have rodents as pets. [25] Additionally, rats have also been used for work purpose as well such as bomb detection, laying computer link cables or serving as therapy animals for people. [26] In the past, rodents were considered vermin that spread disease and were a threat to crops, as a result the practice of keeping small mammals as pets, is a relatively recent development, arising only after large-scale industrialization.
In the United States, there is an estimate of 6.0 million households that own birds. [27] As with other domestic animals, birds have been used to perform roles and tasks such as delivering messages, pigeon racing or falconry. Usually, ownership of birds requires an enclosure (such as a birdcages) or a tether (such as a jess) to keep the birds from getting loose.
In the United States, an estimate of 11.8 million households who own a pet, own a fish. [18] Humans that rent homes that cannot own dogs and/or cats look towards the option of owning a fish. This could also be true to those who have a serious health issue or extreme asthma. Owning a fish has little evidence of allergies, and overall extreme little danger compared to owning dogs or cats. There are bacterial risks, such as infection, when it comes to fish water, but can be prevented with proper cleaning care. Those that do own a fish with an aquarium believe it has beneficial properties, such as relaxation and a distraction from everyday life. [28]
Pet owning in America may cause trouble to the public. Owners may have to face the consequences of pets that misbehave. It may result in pressure and distress to their owners and nearby neighbors. Each year in the United States alone, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that an average of 4.5 million people are attacked by a dog. Within those attacks, around 900,000 of them are serious and need immediate attention. Many pets are also known to carry diseases. Dogs, one of the most common pets in America, are known to transmit rabies to humans primarily through biting. [29] Cats are carriers of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that enters the brain and may cause toxoplasmosis. [30] Pets are also known to cause people allergies. They could also trigger an asthma attack, for those who are allergic. [6]
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive/cute appearances, intelligence, and relatable personalities, but some pets may be taken in on an altruistic basis and accepted by the owner regardless of these characteristics.
Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardianship model wherein the organization retains some control over the animal's future use or care.
A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners.
A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort and support to people, often in settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, libraries, hospices, or disaster areas. In contrast to assistance dogs, which are trained to assist specific patients with their day-to-day physical needs, therapy dogs are trained to interact with all kinds of people, not just their handlers.
Housebreaking or house-training is the process of training a domesticated animal that lives with its human owners in a house or other residence to excrete outdoors, or in a designated indoor area, rather than to follow its instinctive behaviour randomly inside the house.
Robotic pets are artificially intelligent machines that are made to resemble actual pets. While the first robotic pets produced in the late 1990s were not too advanced, they have since grown technologically. Many now use machine learning, making them much more realistic. Most consumers buy robotic pets with the aim of getting similar companionship that real pets offer, without some of the drawbacks that come with caring for live animals. The pets on the market currently have a wide price range, from the low hundreds into the several thousands of dollars. Multiple studies have been done to show that we treat robotic pets in a similar way as actual pets, despite their obvious differences. However, there is some controversy regarding how ethical using robotic pets is, and whether or not they should be widely adopted in elderly care.
Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food industry, and is not regarded as "human grade".
The dog is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it was domesticated from an extinct population of wolves during the Late Pleistocene, over 14,000 years ago by hunter-gatherers, prior to the development of agriculture. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Experts estimate that due to their long association with humans, dogs have expanded to a large number of domestic individuals and gained the ability to thrive on a starch-rich diet that would be inadequate for other canids.
The loss of a pet or an animal to which one has become emotionally bonded oftentimes results in grief which can be comparable with the death of a human loved one, or even greater, depending on the individual. The death can be felt more intensely when the owner has made a decision to end the pet's life through euthanasia. While there is strong evidence that animals can feel such loss for other animals, this article focuses on human feelings, when an animal is lost, dies or otherwise is departed.
Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by animals as an aggressive warning but can also be found in other contexts such as playful behaviors or mating. Different animals will use growling in specific contexts as a form of communication. In humans, low or dull rumbling noises may also be emitted when they are discontent with something or they are angry, although this human sound is often termed "groaning" & "grunting".
An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides support to individuals with a mental health or psychiatric disability. Emotional support animals are not required to be trained. Any animal that provides support, comfort, or aid, to an individual through companionship, unconditional positive regard, and affection may be regarded as an emotional support animal.
Pet rental is the practice, usually administered by for-profit companies, of renting pets such as dogs and cats. Rental also includes animals who are hired out at a specific rate for a specific time. It is a controversial practice opposed by many animal rights advocates and has been banned in at least one municipality: Boston, Massachusetts.
Human–canine bonding is the relationship between dogs and humans. This relationship can be traced back to at least 15,000 years ago, to the Bonn-Oberkassel dog, who was found buried alongside two humans. For centuries, dogs have been considered man's best friend. This is most evident in Western countries, such as the United States, where 44% of households have a pet dog.
Human interaction with cats relates to the hundreds of millions of cats that are kept as pets around the world. The inter-relationship involves companionship, communication and caregiving. Dating back thousands of years, cats were originally domesticated for their ability to control pests and later became valued companions. Cats communicate through vocalizations, body language and behaviors, forming strong bonds with their human owners. Owners provide the food, shelter, and medical care, while play and enrichment activities stimulate their physical and mental well-being. Despite their independent nature, cats enjoy human company and require understanding of their unique behaviours. Positive reinforcement training can shape desired behaviours, fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and their feline companions, built on mutual respect and affection.
Pet culture in Japan has a long history going back centuries, especially in regards to cats. Pets were originally referred to as aigandōbutsu or short-form aiganbutsu, but the terminology has changed in the 20th century into the anglicised petto (ペット).
An interspecies friendship is a nonsexual bond that is formed between animals of different species. Numerous cases of interspecies friendships among wild and domesticated animals have been reported and documented with photography and video. Domestication of animals has led to interspecies friendships between species that would never naturally exist together. In many cases of interspecies friendship, the species are not normally seen together, and sometimes, one is of a species that ordinarily preys on the other in nature.
Dogs in the United States have significant popularity and status – they are often treated as family members. Currently, the American Kennel Club is the largest registry of pure breed dogs across the world.
Between 5% and 10% of homeless peoplein the United States own pets. Studies of homeless pet owners in urban settings show a sense of identity and community connection between pets and their owners. This topic is part of the Animals and Society branch of study in the field of Sociology, and is also an issue with the values and responsibility of pet ownership.
The pet industry is the market industry associated with companion animals. It includes things that are associated with the production, consumption and cultural activities linked to the market. Next to nutrition, toys and animal healthcare, new services and products like taxis, kindergartens, hotels, IT appliances, broadcasting, theme parks and funeral services are appearing on the market.
Pet ownership in South Korea has increased in recent years. Dogs are the most common household animal, owned by 75.3% of pet-owning South Korean households, followed by cats, then goldfish. South Korean pet culture is constantly developing, and the companion animal industry in South Korea is worth an estimated 3.4 trillion won as of 2020.