Tell Us About Your Pets!

Smart girls decide for themselves.™

January 18, 2002 

239 people (93 percent of which were female) responded to our late 2001 survey about pets.  The average age of the respondents was about 15 years old.  About 65 percent of you were from the United States, 14 percent from the United Kingdom, 8 percent from Australia, 6 percent from Canada, and the remaining 6 percent from different countries all over the world.

The average number of pets you had was right around 3, but the answers ranged anywhere from 0 to 14!! 

Figure 1.1

Here’s a breakdown of the kind of pets you own.

Table 1.1 Respondent’s Type of Pet

SmartGirl asked what your favorite pet was.  It was a close race between cats and dogs, with dogs barely pulling out as your favorite!  Here’s a table with all your favorites, and how they were ranked.

Table 1.2 Respondent’s Favorite Pet

*26 didn’t respond to this question

SmartGirl asked why the pet you selected was your favorite pet.  While 45 respondents didn’t answer this question, almost 37% of you that did said it was because it is cute or pretty, 18% because you can do a lot with it, 16% because it is smart, and 11% because you have had it for a long time.  Here’s what some SmartGirls had to say about their favorite pets. 

• “My favorites are horses and dogs, because they are intelligent and you can be a team with them.”  (SmartGirl, age 18)  

• “I love birds because they are just right for me.  I live in an apartment, so I can’t have anything big.  Birds are great companions and they are quite smart, and I think that they are as cute as any dog!”  (SmartGirl, age 11)

• “I think cats are just wild!  Just like me!  I love my cats and they love me.  It’s like they’re my babies!”  (SmartGirl, age 12)  

• “This might sound crazy, but my horse seems to understand me, all of my animals do, but my horse does the most.”  (SmartGirl, age 17)  

• “I reckon fish are the coolest cause they’re pretty.”  (SmartGirl, age 16)  

• “Cats are my favorite because they will lie down with you and let you pet them.  They help me to relax when I am stressed out about family, friends, or school.  (SmartGirl, age 16)  

• “Because my dog knows me better than anyone else.”  (SmartGirl, age 17)  

Over 70% of the respondents want a pet that their parent or guardian won’t let them have.  Here’s a breakdown of why.

Table 1.3

*84 didn’t respond to this question

SmartGirl asked “Do you sleep with your pet?”  Almost 39% of respondents said that they sometimes slept with their pet, 34% said no, almost 9% said no because it’s not the kind of pet you can sleep with, and almost 19% said yes. 

Lastly, SmartGirl asked,  “If a person told you, ‘You shouldn't have pets because animals should have equal rights as humans!’ How would you respond?”

Figure 1.3

Here were some of the typical responses.

• “Most ‘pets’ have been domesticated and thus do not have a great chance of surviving on their own.  It all the dogs and cats in America were turned out of their homes, for example, the country would be run over with diseased and possibly dangerous animals.”  (SmartGirl)  
 
• “If you treat your pet well, they do have equal rights.  That is not a good reason for people to not have pets!  Pets really help some people and they are really good company.”  (SmartGirl, age 13)
 
• “Are you a vegetarian?  Farm animals like sheep, cows, and pigs are animals, too, and we eat them.  Don’t complain about pet rights until you take off your leather coat and shoes and start eating vegetarian.”  (SmartGirl, age 22)
 
• “I don’t call my cats my pets.  They are almost like my children.  I love them more than anything.  People that have problems making friends in the human world need a friend.  And how can they have equal rights anyway.  Are we going to let cats vote now?”  (SmartGirl, age 16)

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!