First, let me say I love dogs. I grew up with dogs (one long-haired dachshund and one short-haired dachshund), and my family includes a dog now (a large husky lab mix). I loved the dogs I grew up with, and I love the dog I have now. Though maybe not as much as a growing number of Americans love their dogs.
According to a new study by researchers at the Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina, a growing percentage of dog owners “view their dog as a soulmate. The study’s authors defined a soulmate as someone “with whom one has a unique deep connection based on mutual understanding and acceptance.” Specifically, dog owners were given statements such as, “My dog is my main companion” and “My dog’s love is purer than most people’s love,” and then asked to rate how strongly they agreed with the statements on a scale of one to seven. Shockingly, 73% of pet owners had an average score of five or above.
Researchers then tested whether or not those who viewed their dogs as soulmates were more likely to choose dogs over people in certain moral scenarios.
“Owners who viewed their dogs as soulmates were more likely to feed, fund, and save the life of a dog over a person,” researchers found. “More than half of dog owners chose to save their dog over a human stranger, one in five chose to save an unfamiliar puppy over a person, and one in four chose to give money to a puppy in need over a child in need.”
Now, admittedly, these were all hypothetical situations. Researchers did not document dog owners actually letting people die so they could save a dog. However, the researchers included some very real data showing that as the national birth rate has declined, spending on pets has exploded. Even more persuasive, researchers found that at the local level, counties that have had the greatest rise in earnings by the pet industry have also seen the greatest fall in human fertility.
“The moral elevation of dogs may reflect — and potentially contribute to — declines in human social connection,” the researchers wrote.
“Many millennials are adopting pets instead of having children, and much of Gen Z plans to follow suit,” they warned. “Dogs are not merely substitutes for children; they’re preferred. Dogs are considered easier and more emotionally reliable than people, in part because they ‘don’t nag, never talk back, and are always in a good mood.'”
DISNEY AND OUR LOST SENSE OF COMMUNITY
And these “easier” dog-children are being showered with resources. The paper found that childless households are responsible for about 70% of pet-related purchases. In cities dominated by childless couples, such as New York and San Francisco, far more money is spent on pets every year than on children.
For millennia, dogs have been man’s best friend, helping us hunt, herd livestock, and guard property. However, as we have become increasingly industrialized, dogs have become less work companions and more emotional companions. This is all fine and good until dog companionship replaces human companionship, which is happening now. If couples don’t start having more children and fewer puppies, there will be a lot fewer humans and dogs in the future.
