Pets are being found more frequently across Portuguese homes.
A study by market research institute GfK concluded that half of Portuguese houses have at least one pet, most of which are dogs (68%), showing an increase in pets compared to 2011, when 45% of home owners kept animal companions.
But owners seem to prefer smaller animals. Half of the dogs weighed less than 10 kilos.
Although there are more households with at least one animal, it is becoming less common to find residences with more than one animal – a seemingly ‘less is more’ ideology.
Out of all the residences with dogs, only 23% had more than one dog, while out of all homes with cats, only 29% had more than one cat.
Trips to the vet are also becoming less frequent. In 2011, the tendency was to visit the veterinarian twice a year, while the norm now is to only see the vet once a year – a sign of the times very possibly, although these are not affecting people’s willingness to have a pet.
GfK compiled these results from a survey taking in 802 Portuguese homes in July this year.
