Professor Nickie Charles of The University of Warwick will present a paper at the British Sociological Association (BSA) meetings later on how the traditional boundary between people and their pets is often blurred. Professor Charles’ research is based on a survey in which people were asked to map their relationships. In addition to including family and friends, many respondents asked if they should include their dog or cat.
UK Pets reported on the findings:
“Often the request was made with a smile, but about a quarter of those surveyed asked if they could include pets.
“In some ways it makes sense that people value those family and friends which are most useful to them. If pets are useful, either as assistance animals or simply as company, then they have greater emotional value to individuals than a relative we just keep on our Christmas card list.”
Of the 193 respondents, 44 spontaneously mentioned pets in constructing their Relationship Network Diagrams.
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[...] Dr. Menlo wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptProfessor Nickie Charles of The University of Warwick will present a paper at the British Sociological Association (BSA) meetings later on how the traditional boundary between people and their pets is often blurred. … [...]