He's like a son to me...

Allo! Allo! How are you today then? Tickety boo? Pour yourself a mugga and reach for a squishy, gooey cream slice while I tell you what's happening out there. Families have changed in modern times - with pets widely considered to be much-loved members, according to new research. According to Ancentry.co.uk found that 90% of pet owners think of their animal as part of the family.

A third (33%) of those even claim to prefer their pets to real life members of their family, with one in six (15%) considering their pet more important than their cousin. Nah, my cousin in England is much more important than any pet...though he doesn't fetch as well as he used to!

Dog owners are the most keen to make their pet a bonafide family member, with 16% choosing to include the animal in the 2011 Census. A number of these even listed their dog as their "son" on the official form.

But this animal infatuation is by no means a 21st century phenomenon, with pets also listed in the 1911 Census. For example, Arthur and Elizabeth Delve from Smethwick found it fit to record the existence of their "faithful Irish terrier Biddy". Biddy, it was noted, was a "magnificent watch and a demon on cats and vermin".

Another canine in the 1911 Census is 'Roger the Watchdog' who lived in Dulwich. His journalist owner James Little listed his age at five and a rather fitting profession of "looking after the house".

Paintings of pets were particularly popular in Victorian Britain when wealthy women were known to sit for pictures with perfectly groomed lap dogs. This trend persists today with one in 20 owners confessing they have commissioned a professional portrait of their animal.

Many British people also leave behind a more permanent token of affection.Nearly one in 10 (9%) of dog owners love the animal so much that they are planning on leaving money or assets to them in their will.

Ancestry.co.uk commissioned ICM Research to question 2,000 UK adults aged 18 and over this month about attitudes towards pets. Of these, 1,172 were pet owners.

Even though they say that families have changed, if you compare the 2011 census with the 1911 one, they were still listing pets as family members back then. We just have a lot more people around now.  Me? I like dogs, cats and most other critters except anything that thinks it is higher than me on the food chain.  

Of course, some folks hold different views of animals:

See ya, eh!

Bob