Differences Between Owners and Nonowners of Companion Animals

Abstract

In 1989, a survey was conducted to examine why people in the Netherlands keep companion animals and what functions companion animals serve. Initially, the aim was to develop a profile of companion-animal owners. A comparison was made between owners and nonowners of companion animals using a questionnaire sent to a random sample of 1,478 addresses drawn from telephone directories. The differences between owners of different species of companion animals were also studied. The results of the investigation showed that companion-animal owners differed significantly from non-animal owners in several respects such as marital status, type of dwelling, income, age, presence of children, and educational level. Factors that most influenced companion-animal ownership were the age of the owner and the size of the household. The differences between the different kinds of animal owners included the geographical location within the Netherlands, degree of urbanization, type of dwelling, age of owners, and size of household.