London - As the saying goes, a dog is a man’s best friend. But for many it seems they are much more than that.
Dog owners have admitted to calling their pet their “baby” in a survey, with a quarter saying they treated their dog like their child.
The poll of 23 000 dog owners also found almost half confessed to letting their dog sleep in their bed, and just under three-quarters said they have photographs of their pet.
It comes as BBC broadcaster Andrew Neil admitted he and his girlfriend share their bed with two-year-old Golden Retriever Molly, who, along with their two other dogs, Retrievers Junior and Jimbo, they consider to be their child.
Neil, 65, said: “We plan things around the dogs. We celebrate Christmas with our dogs.”
The survey found owners of Chihuahuas – a small breed known by some as “handbag dogs” – were more likely to call their pet their baby, with 49 percent confessing to it.
And 37 percent who have Bull Terriers confessed to doing the same. Owners of small dogs were also most likely to share their bed with a dog, with 77 percent of Yorkshire Terrier owners admitting to the habit.
Even among larger breeds it was not unheard of, with 18 percent of St Bernard owners saying their dog joins them in bed.
When it came to owning photos of their pets, Corgi owners topped the chart at 88 percent. - Daily Mail