 | 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.
An assistance dog, known as a service dog in the United States, is a dog trained to aid or assist an individual with a disability. Many are trained by an assistance dog organization, or by their handler, often with the help of a professional trainer.
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.
Raw feeding is the practice of feeding domestic dogs, cats, and other animals a diet consisting primarily of uncooked meat, edible bones, and organs. The ingredients used to formulate raw diets vary. Some pet owners choose to make home-made raw diets to feed their animals but commercial raw diets are also available.
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 is derived from extinct Pleistocene wolves, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. The dog was the first species to be domesticated by humans. Hunter-gatherers did this, over 15,000 years ago in Germany, which was before the development of agriculture. 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.
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".
An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides relief to individuals with "psychiatric disability through companionship." Emotional support animals may be any type of pet, and are not recognized as service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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 over 48% of households have a pet dog.
Hundreds of millions of cats are kept as pets around the world.
Pet culture in Japan is a phenomenon that has developed over the last few decades.
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.