A Look at Pet Ownership Statistics in the United States

 

Orlando White and his beloved cat Garfield on Garfield's birthday. 

In the United States, nearly 87-million households feature at least one pet; this equates to two out of every three homes. According to the American Pet Products Association, pet ownership in the United States has been on a sharp rise in recent years, increasing from 56 percent of US households in 1988. The nation’s continued interest in companion animals can also be seen in the success of the pet insurance industry, which doubled in size between 2018 and 2021.

Pet ownership statistics can be influenced by a number of factors. For example, 53 percent of American households include at least one dog, which equates to nearly three out of four pet households. However, when looking at homes with annual incomes of $100,000 or more, which make up the bulk of pet households, dog ownership falls slightly to 63 percent. Cat ownership, meanwhile, falls from 50 percent to 40 percent when looking at this specific economic bracket.

One potential reason for this shift is the availability of more diverse pet options for households with higher annual incomes. For instance, there are approximately 1.6 million horse-owning households in the United States. The average horse owner has an annual income of $211,738, more than double the national average US income in 2021. Furthermore, the average horse-owning household has not one but six horses, despite each individual animal costing up to $325 per month in expenses, compared to $43 per month for a medium-sized dog.

Pet ownership statistics also vary between homeowners and renters. Unsurprisingly, renters are less likely than property owners to own pets. What is more interesting is the fact that 94 percent of homeowners have at least one pet, indicating that companion animals are virtually ubiquitous among American families who have the opportunity to own their home. Dogs are especially popular, with just under three out of five homeowners having one or more canine companions in the house. The Labrador retriever has long ranked as the nation’s most popular dog breed.

The importance of pets in American culture can be further appreciated by examining pet trends between 2016 and 2020. Due to various economic hardships, including the COVID pandemic, American households could not afford to have as many pets as in previous years. Single-dog households increased from 60 to 65 percent among dog owners, and single-cat homes grew from 53 to 56 percent. But as the overall number of pets decreased, the total number of households with at least one pet continued to climb, underscoring America’s close bond with companion animals.

Pet ownership statistics in America can also change based on gender, age, and ethnicity. The familiar adage “dog is man’s best friend” is true in America, with an estimated 71 percent of American men between the ages of 18 and 44 owning one or more canines, compared to 60 percent of women. Men also own more cats, at 37 to 33 percent, including 46 percent of millennial men. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are the most active pet owners in general, with 75 percent of Americans aged 30 to 39 owning a dog.

Just under two-thirds of white American households include pets, compared to 61.4-percent of Hispanic households and 36.9-percent of African American households.

Social Justice Issues in America and around the World

 The term social justice refers to an equitable and fair division or allocation of resources, opportunities, and civil liberties in society. Social justice depends in large part on the social, political, and economic institutions that collectively promote fairness, equity, human rights, participation, and access to basic facilities like education and health.

Issues of social justice trace their roots to oppressive and discriminatory systems that are often deeply intertwined. A society is just when everyone is protected, supported, and respected. To achieve social justice, many issues inevitably linger and must be addressed.

For example, social justice and healthcare are intrinsically interwoven. In the US, despite the Affordable Care Act of 2010, gaps persist in coverage, particularly in areas like the allocation of resources to mental health care. The COVID-19 pandemic proved how vital access to healthcare can be, as many members of disadvantaged communities struggled to access tests, treatment, and professional mental health help.

The challenge of refugees only seems to grow bigger by the year. For example, in 2023, data from the UN Refugee Agency indicates over 2 million refugees will need resettling, a 36 percent increase from the number recorded in 2022. In particular, women and children are vulnerable to trafficking and violence.

Both smugglers and some poorly trained police are also among the perpetrators of violence against refugees. Going forward, the safety and resettlement of refugees must be addressed as urgent social justice issues by both governments and international groups, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other UN bodies.

Returning to the US, although many laws prevent racial discrimination, social justice challenges regarding racism persist. Racism is systemic and not always overt when it comes to, for example, workplace or policing hiring. However, it can also come out in the open as violent physical and even lethal attacks on people of color and minoritized populations. These are acts that hurt, ostracize, and demean certain groups of people. Social movements since the murder of George Floyd are a step in the right direction, as they highlight many of these social injustices.

Still related to social justice is the scarcity of mental health resources and how that intersects with gun violence in the US all linked to homicides, suicides, and mass shootings. Gun related homicides in the US rank the highest among developed nations. The impact of such acts goes far beyond those killed. Those who have lost loved ones, become injured, or witnessed gun violence often suffer long-term mental and physical effects.

While the Constitution protects the right to own arms in the US, many laws are increasingly being proposed or enacted to curb gun-related violence. Among these is banning specific weapons from civilian ownership and conducting more thorough background checks for those seeking to own guns.

Human rights are a social justice issue. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, (questioning), intersex, asexual, and agender (LGBTQIA) rights is a long standing issue not just in the US, but globally. LGBTQIA people and communities, despite some social progress, face continuing discrimination. Often, LGBTQIA people are unable to access the same healthcare, educational, and political opportunities. Even where current laws protect them, bullying, harassment, and physical attacks are still too common.

Finally, the effects of climate change have assumed a social justice dimension. Although climate change might seem like a scientific issue for scientists to address, the ravages of global warming and pollution place significant strain on scarce resources that could have otherwise gone to uplift the welfare of communities. Social justice aims to drive and inspire meaningful action by all stakeholders including governments, businesses, and individuals.

Orlando T. White's Farewell to UNLV

MAR. 20, 2020

Orlando T. White, assistant director of residential education, has accepted a position at Stanford University as the associate dean of residential education. He first starting working at UNLV in 2012 as a residential life coordinator and has served in his current role since 2014. He has accomplished a remarkable amount of work in eight years at UNLV, including growth in historically underrepresented groups in the resident assistant program. He was recognized as Advisor of the Year from our regional affiliates in 2016 and 2018.

We are asking students, staff, faculty, and alumni to join us in thanking him for his dedication and efforts at UNLV, along with congratulating him on his new opportunity, by signing our digital yearbook by Friday, March 27th. This is taking the place of an in-person farewell celebration originally scheduled for March 31st. Orlando's last day at UNLV will be April 3rd.

Originally published by University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV News on unlv.edu - March 20, 2020

Photo Credit: Angelyn Tabalba 

1 October, 5 Year Reflections

 

Vigil at UNLV on October 2, 2017 outside of the Student Union. Photo credit: UNLV Media Services

*Content Warning: Violence, Mass Shooting, Trauma

“Something big is happening at Mandalay Bay” the text message on my home screen read. I immediately ran towards my back window. Our house had a panoramic view of the Las Vegas Strip. From the Luxor to the Stratosphere, I could see it all. The weekend was almost over. The Strip was all lit up like normal. What was happening down below was anything but normal. Based on the text I received from a colleague, I was expecting to see a bomb or an explosion coming from the area near Mandalay Bay. This was no bomb. This was a mass shooting. A shooting derived from evil and all the powers of Hell. (Yes, that last sentence was a Disney/1959 “Sleeping Beauty” reference with a line from the character Maleficent; I am certainly not making light of this event, but that verbiage and imagery makes a lot of sense in my brain to describe this incident.)

October 2022 marks the 5-year anniversary of the tragic and senseless “1 October” mass shooting in Las Vegas. 60 people were killed. Mainstream media referred to it, at least at the time, as the deadliest mass shooting in modern history. A gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Hotel, Resort, and Casino, aimed across the street and opened fire at the Route 91 country music festival. Jason Aldean was on stage at the time. When I first learned of a shooting at Mandalay Bay, I assumed it was inside of Mandalay Bay. Thankfully, I am not vile enough to immediately envision the horror of how the shooting actually took place. This was on a Sunday and earlier that night, I found time to fit-in a workout and then I had re-connected with two old friends through text messages. The day before, I got my haircut and happened to drive past Mandalay Bay. The Friday before, our department held a successful in-service with student staff where we practiced writing effective incident reports using a literal “cut and paste” group exercise.

I was living in Henderson, Nevada at the time and working as Assistant Director of Residential Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). I was the next level up on the “on-call” rotation that night for Housing and Residential Life.

As the shooting took place at the music festival, concertgoers dodged bullets through utter mayhem as they ran away from the gunfire in terror. Some fled the concert with blood on their clothes. Blood that was not their own. Many were unable to run because they were shot dead and likely had no idea what was happening to them in their last conscious moments. Others ran barefoot 1.2 miles away from the Strip and were frantically seeking refuge on campus at UNLV in any of the campus buildings. One of those campus buildings was our first-year residence hall, Dayton, where about 400 college freshman lived. Shortly after the shooting, I receive a phone call from the duty phone. It was from a grad student on our staff who reported people running into Dayton. These people were at the concert, and they were worried, in shock and did not know what to do. I was watching the breaking news on TV, and I knew exactly what was happening. I broke all security protocol and told our staff to let them stay inside the conference room; close the blinds to give them privacy. Offer them water. Offer them a phone to use. Give them whatever they needed. In that conference room, a wonderful angel of a residential life coordinator join these folks and held space with these survivors in their time of need. Like most, I have a complicated relationship with God, or “a” God or the concept of God. However, I do believe the God works through people. That night, God worked through her grace.

I’ve always had a strong connection to television my entire life. Neither live news nor tragedy was exempt from this connection. 1995. Oklahoma City bombing? Watched it on TV. 1999. Columbine High School shooting — in my home state of Colorado? Watched it on TV. 2001. 9/11 attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. Watched it on TV. On October 1, 2017, I watched my favorite city add its name to the growing lists of “fill-in-the-blank/insert name of city where attack occured+strong” at the hands of a terrorist.

I lived about 25 minutes away from campus. As I watched the media coverage, authorities were urging non-emergency personnel to stay off of the roadways to allow first responders easy access to the area near Mandalay Bay. This, to save as many lives as possible. In my mind, this was a tragedy unfolding in real time and everyone in my circle was aware of what was happening. This was a catastrophic event that I, in good taste, could not turn my back on. However, at 10 o’clock at night, several of my colleagues were sleeping. They wouldn’t learn of what happened until they woke up the next day. I also did not escalate what I was hearing from our on-call team and I felt a tremendous amount of guilt for not doing that.

This incident was near campus, but not on campus. Yet, I was getting frantic texts from several of my students. When many of them first heard the gunfire outside of their rooms, they thought it was a helicopter landing at the nearby international airport — which is practically on campus at UNLV because it is so close in proximity.

I felt like I couldn’t do anything. I was in shock. I stayed up all night watching the news coverage. When I arrived on campus the next day, I called a 9:00 a.m. debrief to go over next steps. The size of the meeting grew when it became clear that Campus Life and Housing and Residential Life was best equipped to respond to the various needs stemming from this emergency. Collaborating with many colleagues across campus, I worked with the students I was advising in the Residence Hall Association (RHA) to organize a candlelight vigil that evening.

Earlier that year, in May of 2017, my students were recognized with the prestigious “School of the Year” honor from the National Association of College and University Residence Halls or NACURH. This award is the highest honor in the association. The students described this honor as the “world championship” of RHA. This “1 October” tragedy needed a world-class response.

I will say, RHA led the charge to host a vigil. The larger student government declined to host a vigil that night and so did other, let’s say, higher-ranking university officials. I rode with the students to Party City on South Maryland Parkway and we bought every last battery powered candle in stock. I felt like by not responding in person the night before, I let my community and colleagues down. That was my mindset. This, coupled with adrenaline, I knew I needed to pour myself into the recovery efforts.

The university, as well as the community, needed a healing space. The Moyer Amphitheater and Student Union Courtyard begin to fill with people that evening for the vigil. The crowd grew and grew. From one-hundred to upwards of one-thousand people. One-thousand people who would not have had a place to process and grieve if it were not for the work of these students and their stubborn advisor (that would be me.) Representatives from RHA, including their president, gave remarks. There was no script, just raw emotion.

Vigil at UNLV on October 2, 2017 outside of the Student Union. Photo credit: Las Vegas Review-Journal

The next day, after getting a few hours of sleep, I tuned into watch the “Hot Topics” segment of ABC’s “The View.” The opening of the show that day included footage from the Associated Press which had video of people embracing one another at the UNLV vigil the night before. The same vigil that would not have taken place if it were not for our RHA students.

Just days later, RHA took students on a field trip to the First Friday outdoor festival in downtown Las Vegas. They rode the city bus to the event. Learning how to ride public transit was an educational component of the trip. The students would not let fear stop them from living their lives in public spaces.

One year later, UNLV RHA would be recognized again, nationally by NACURH, with the award for Outstanding Advocacy Initiative. They were honored, not only for this vigil, but for their comprehensive recommendations regarding safety and security on campus to senior administration. I will always be very proud of their accomplishments.

I completely respect how different people will cope with trauma in different ways. During this time, I remember many of my colleagues distanced themselves from the intense emotion of this incident by saying things such as “Well, I’m not from Vegas so I’m not as impacted.” Although I was originally from Colorado and moved to Vegas from Philly, I, simply, did not feel the same way. Not only was I impacted, I felt like I let my team down by not coming to campus that night. The next day, I had RAs complaining that their training did not prepare them for such a tragedy. What do you do when a gunman opens fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel and starts shooting at an open-air music festival? What “Behind Closed Doors” scenario is that? Helping students understand how their helping skills, active listening skills, and referral skills are transferable to various situations is a perennial aspect of my work.

Flowers and candles remained outside in the Student Union amphitheater for 6 months after the vigil. These artifacts stood as a sign of hope, strength, and inspiration from that evening. On the day the university announced the remaining candles would be discarded if they were not picked-up, I saved some of them. I still have them to this day. I know some of the remaining cards were donated to the Nevada State Museum. Folks who work in residential life are known for being “pack rats” but it was important to me to save those last candles. Many of the victims were from California and I now live in California.

Some of the last remaining candles from UNLV’s 1 October vigil on October 2, 2017.

Clearly, this is my personal connection to this tragedy. However, I want to end by honoring and uplifting the lives who were lost and their families who still grieve their loved ones from that Sunday night in Las Vegas. Those who have lost loved ones due to senseless violence never truly “get over it.” They only learn to cope as best they can. Throughout life, something “big” will happen from time to time. Something “big” can include love and support for one another.