Hugh: 3 in 5 Think Their Pet is Smarter Than the Average Person

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most pet owners prefer their furry friend’s companionship over that of most people. I spend a lot of time talking to my dogs, even though they aren’t exactly chatty. We LOVE our pets, and it turns out that many of us also think they’re pretty smart. A survey of 2,000 dog and cat owners revealed that 61% of us think our pets are actually smarter than the average person. It’s hard to tell if we’re overrating our companions’ intelligence or underrating how smart the average person is, but I’m guessing there’s a bit of both going on. Even if you’re one of the 39% that doesn’t have as much faith in your dog or cat’s intelligence, that doesn’t mean you think less of them. In fact, 81% of people say they treat their pets the same way they treat people. I don’t know how many people treat their pets better than they treat other people, but it’s probably not a small number.