Pets prove to be the pandemic’s cute, furry growth area

An increase in domestic dogs and cats is not just good news for their new owners - it's also a boost for the US economy

Her name was Peanut. I was drawn to her because she looked like the Jack Russell terrier from the TV show Frasier (the only likable member of the cast) and maybe also because of some bottomless loneliness. The pandemic seemed to nudge so many people into getting pets so maybe I should also become a mother to this oversized rat?

A lot of people in the US got a dog in the pandemic. Almost 9 million dogs have been acquired by households since the start of the pandemic (a number equivalent to the population of New York City) bringing the total number of dogs in the US to 108 million (that's roughly one dog to every three humans in the US). And cats crept up too - an additional 5 million in the space of just a few years bringing the total US feline count to 79 million.