According to a recent study by Spectrum Group, the answer is yes. It was shown that 58 percent of millionaire pet owners have a dog, where only 37 percent have a cat. The study also showed that 25% of these millionaire dog owners spend over $1,000 a year on their dogs. More than half of the millionaires spend more than $500 a year on their dogs. Over half of these millionaire dog owners spend money on teeth cleaning and 34% of them spend money grooming their dogs.
Let’s compare this percentage to the rest of the country. According to the Humane Society of America, only 39% of American households own a dog while 33% share their home with a cat. This means that an above average amount of millionaires have dogs.
Apparently it is not only the super-rich that prefer dogs. The study showed that over 70% of senior corporate executives own a dog. Of these dog owners, around 25% of them said they spend over $2,000 a year on their pet dogs.
One can only speculate why many rich people prefer to have dogs. Perhaps is because it costs more to care for a dog than a cat? According to the American Pet Products Association, it takes more money to give routine healthcare to dogs. They report that more money also needs to be spent on dogs for feeding and traveling with them.
What are some other reasons that dogs may be preferred by the wealthy? Perhaps it is the unconditional love that they provide. Dogs don’t care how much money you have, they love you no matter what. Most dogs are affectionate in nature. Cats can be this way too, but on their own terms.
The rich love dogs so much that some of them choose to pass down to them millions of dollars in their will. Jennifer Cona, a trust and estates attorney in New York says that over 90% of the pet trusts she sees are for dogs and just 10% are for cats.
Perhaps the rich like the fact that a dog can help guard their precious possessions. Dogs can alert the homeowner if there is an unwanted intruder or if there is trouble brewing. Their sixth sense is also helpful if a fire should break out.
Having a dog is a great conversation starter. When you are walking around the neighborhood, people pay more attention to you. This means that dog owners get more social interaction in addition to getting exercise on their walks.
Dogs make great companions, even when we get old. After retirement, some elderly people may feel like the time they spend during the day is unstructured. Since dogs need to be fed and walked at certain times, this can help provide this type of structure when it is lacking.