National Pet Month
April 10th

Originally published in Mom's Favorite Reads eMagazine
April 2021

National Pet Month was developed to celebrate the benefits of pet ownership and to support pet adoption efforts. Over 80 million homes in America have a pet.  Approximately half of those households have more than one pet.

It’s not surprising that the most popular pet is man’s best friend, with over 470 million pet dogs worldwide.  The second most popular companion is our favorite feline — with roughly 370 million pet cats in the world.  Pet birds and fish round off the top four.

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Fun facts about pets. Did you know?

• Americans spend over $50 billion annually on their pets. Nearly one third of these pet owners admit they have had professional photographs — or family photos — taken with their pets.
• 36% of Americans give their dogs birthday presents.
• 9 in 10 Americans think of their pets as part of the family.
• Half a million American households have a pet snake.
• Norwegians spend the most money feeding their pets, totaling approximately $623 million a year.
• Fish are the most popular pets in the UK
• 68% of New Zealand households have a pet — this is higher than any other country in the world.
• 83% of Australians have owned a pet. Aussie’s also keep their pets indoors with 92% reporting their cats and 76% reporting their dogs reside inside the home.
• The most popular pet in Peru is the Alpaca.
• In China, pet crickets are seen as good luck.