“Our pets are a huge part of our lives and can make our day-to-day lives richer than it would be without them," said the general manager at the Mercure Stratford-Upon-Avon Hotel, James Lys. 

“We have noticed a marked increase in guests who bring their pets, specifically their dogs, travelling with them to share in the experience.”

Since so many guests (38%) bring their pets while traveling, Lys commissioned the survey to learn more about the relationship between humans and animals.

In addition to finding out that people prefer the company of their pets over their best friends, they learned that 79% of respondents missed their pets when traveling from home, and around 25% felt lost without their companion on the trip. Meanwhile, half thought that the presence of their pet could’ve made their holiday better.

Besides the benefits already mentioned, our attachment to our pets has to do with their helplessness and vulnerability. We, as humans, feel that these fragile beings require our attention, help, and concern, similar to how we feel about children.

In fact, we’re less likely to feel empathy for adults because they can easily speak up for their rights or defend themselves from danger, whereas animals are unable to do so themselves.

There’s also the need for unconditional love. Humans want someone who loves us no matter what, has zero expectations, and is always happy to see us, whether we’re grumpy or not. We need someone who truly knows us, can communicate without a single word, and with whom we have no fear of judgment. Meanwhile, in relationships between people, such things can be difficult to find; that’s why we often fill such a need with pets.

The bond with animals is also unbreakable, which isn’t always the case with humans. The more time you spend with your pet, the more the connection keeps growing. If you need proof of this, just take a look at darling Hachiko, who waited for his owner at the train station long after he passed away. 

Even Sigmund Freud, a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, was a lover of dogs. He once said to his friend Marie Bonaparte in a letter, “Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate.”

He found their companionship uncomplicated and pure. Freud became so inseparable from his dogs that he would meet patients with them in his consulting room. On several birthdays, he even received short congratulatory poems with wishes from them, purposefully written by his children.