Survey Suggests People With Pets Happier Since the Pandemic

The study, titled Pet Parenthood Today, looked at the answers of over 1400 pet owners to see the impact pets had on their personal and professional lives. Since the pandemic started, pet ownership has been at an all-time high, and the research suggests better health benefits and general mood improvements come with pet parenting.

Some of the key findings from the study include the following:

• Pet parents spend an average of 8.5-9.5 hours a day with their pet. This obviously is an increase due to remote work being continued and that time being more flexible.
• Pet partners who had pet health insurance plans do more ‘quality time’ like things with their pets than compared to those without pet insurance. This includes vacations with their pets, taking their pets out to eat, exercising their pets and more.
• Eighty-three percent of pet parents surveyed said that having a pet made them happier as people. Of those, 86% were dog parents and 78% were cat parents.
• Pet-friendly workplaces are the place to be, with almost 60% of pet parents preferring to work for employers who value pet ownership. Job perks like pet insurance and ‘pawternity’ leave are premiums that are becoming staples in today’s workforce.
• Those pet parents who have health insurance for their pets are more likely to seek healthcare for pet needs, with three out of four saying they’re ‘more likely’ to go to the vet than those who don’t have pet insurance.
• Younger generations (Gen Z, Gen A, younger Millennials) have the most anxiety about pet care costs. Still, they’re also the ones more likely to get pet insurance to be the solution for pet care pricing as compared to older generations.

We know that pet partnership is often costly, and this study shows that having pet insurance may be one way to help bring those costs down. 

Melissa Gutierrez is the senior vice president and general manager of Pets Best and said, “More than 70 percent of U.S. households include a pet, which is up significantly since the start of the pandemic. The expectations of what it means to become a pet parent have evolved over time. We’ve found that pet parents now are far more likely to plan for their pet’s care, think about their pet’s well-being, and integrate their pet into daily routines.”

A COVID-19 Pulse Study by the American Pet Products Association found that almost 13 million U.S. households got a new pet in 2020. A new trend occurred as well, with 18-34 year olds being more likely to adopt pets during the pandemic.