Study Shows Owning a Pet as a Child Leads to Career Success
You’d have to be living under a rock not to notice the valuable positive impact pets have on our lives. Sharing your life with a furball could mean lower blood pressure, better mental health, and even better relationships. Similarly, having a pet as a kid could reduce the risk of childhood allergies and obesity. Researchers just added another pawesome perk of childhood pets, though- increased chances of career success later in life. Yup, behind every CEO there’s a four-legged companion that propelled their business. In a way.
People at Banfield Pet Hospital conducted a survey that revealed an unexpected correlation: childhood pet ownership may influence business success. According to the results, 93 percent of C-suite executives had a pet growing up, and a whopping 78 percent of them credits their four-legged companion for their thriving career. Although four in five surveyed execs had a dog and three in five a cat, an impressive 37 percent grew up with a different type of pet. Some had a parrot or a rabbit, others a guinea pig or hamster.
Regardless of what their childhood pet was, the majority of the surveyed businessmen agrees that they taught them lessons that shaped their careers later in life. Whether it was leadership skills, empathy, organization or even creativity it all comes back to Fido.
In a way, these findings shouldn’t be all that surprising. Brian Garish, president of the hospital, notes that this just goes to say how pets help shape us as people. And I couldn’t agree more! From learning about responsibility to love, kids who have pets growing up definitely have a bit of a head start- all thanks to their furry bestie.
A proud mama to seven dogs and ten cats, Angela spends her days writing for her fellow pet parents and pampering her furballs, all of whom are rescues. When she's not gushing over her adorable cats or playing with her dogs, she can be found curled up with a good fantasy book.
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