Your Vancouver Sun

The truth about cats and dogs -- and their owners
Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, May 25, 2007

Canadian pets are pampered, preened and photographed, but they're not getting many dates with the vet.

A national survey of 1,150 cat and dog owners suggests over one-quarter of cat owners and 11 per cent of dog owners didn't spend any money on vet services in the past year.

This suggests they're not even taking their pet for an annual checkup, said Jeremy Twigg, a consultant with public relations firm Fleishman-Hillard.
"The message here is that it's all fun and good that people are going to great lengths to pamper their pets but it seems to be coming at the expense of basic medical attention."

Yet some pet owners are splashing out, with Vancouver's Elaine Hu taking her seven-year-old Airedale terrier Sunshade for acupuncture on her elbow every two weeks followed by rehab in an Aldergrove pool twice a week.

For Hu, it's a small price to pay for a dog who helped her through her parents' divorce.

"We have that special bond," Hu said. "She understands me. We don't even need to talk. She just looks at me and knows what I'm feeling."

Hu agrees with 35 per cent of pet owners, surveyed by Ipsos Reid/Pfizer, and nearly one-fifth of cat owners, who include their pet in family photos.

She's also in line with 82 per cent of cat owners and 68 per cent of dog owners whose pets sleep on the bed with them, and 56 per cent of dog owners who take their pets on vacation.

"Having that pet there is more important than people think," said Stanley Coren, a UBC psychologist and author of Why We Love the Dogs We Do.

"Does your pet ever make you feel guilty, or make comments like 'dearie that colour doesn't really go with your complexion?'"

When it comes to relationships, about 20 per cent of cat and dog owners say they wouldn't consider dating someone who doesn't love pets.

More than one quarter of pet owners also said they wouldn't live with or marry someone who doesn't like animals and would keep their pets even if their significant other was allergic to them.

"They come first," Hu said of her two dogs. "I usually make it clear in the beginning they are the priorities in my life."

To reward them for their loyalty, some pet owners go to extremes.

More than half of Canadian dog owners surveyed said their dog has worn funky T-shirts or raincoats, been to the spa and travelled in a special purse or bag.

At the Pawsh Dog Spa & Boutique in Yaletown, some pet owners have spent up to $90 for a mohawk or to get their pets' nails painted.

Others hold lavish birthday parties, with liver brownies or beef cakes.

Others, such as Hu, have their dogs on the "barf" -- biologically appropriate raw food -- diet or cook them two meals a day.

Fifteen per cent of dog owners and 17 per cent of cat owners surveyed say they allow their dogs and cats to eat off the kitchen table.

"For a lot of people pets are treated the same way as any other beloved member of the family," said dog owner Andrea Ring, a homeopath at the Vancouver Homeopathic Centre for Animals. "They're something that brings people so much joy and comfort."

The poll, conducted between March 13 and 16, is considered accurate within 2.95 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.