"Dog Parents": why some masters consider their dog as their "child"

In a society where family ties are evolving and where urban solitude intensifies, pets transcend their traditional status to become real family members. This emotional revolution redraws the contours of modern parenting and profoundly transforms human-animal relations. As proof, the vast majority of French people now consider their animal as a loved one, and 17% go so far as to grant them a childhood status from the home, according to an exclusive Venternity survey.

The Kantar survey, conducted in May 2025 with 1010 French, reveals the extent of this “parenting pet” which upsets our companies. This new relationship is based on a principle of assumed reciprocity. If 58%of the owners want to offer a good life to their companion, they withdraw concrete personal profits such as affection (53%), mental and emotional balance (48%) or reduction in stress (27%). For 93% of them, having an animal even improves their health.

This relationship varies according to generations. In 50-65 year olds, the animal becomes a real life coach who helps 61% of them to stay in shape and active. The youngest find it a reassuring protector in the face of the uncertainties of the modern world.

But the youngest do not only see their animals as protectors. They make them real life partners, which gives rise to certain anthropomorphic drifts. 33% of 25-34 year olds erect their animal to the rank of children, against 17% for the entire population. This “parenting” is concretely expressed by everyday gestures. 67% regularly offer toys to their companion, 44% publish photos or stories on social networks. In 18-24 year olds, 29% even love the idea that their animal has its own Instagram or Tiktok account. A digitalization of the affection which testifies to total integration in the personal and social universe.

Love without budget limit

Emotional investment is coupled with a limitless financial commitment. 42% of 25-34 year olds do not hesitate to provide luxury services to their companion, including well-being care. A phenomenon that illustrates how far this unique form of parental love can go.

But it is at the time of separation that this emotional intensity is revealed in all its strength. Three quarters of respondents live the loss of their animal as a real mourning, 78% evoke a feeling of emptiness, and a third even speak of depression. Figures that illustrate the depth of an attachment long minimized by the company. This mutation also upsets the approach of the end of animal life. 75% of 25-34 year olds claim that it is important to commemorate the animal’s memory, compared to 45% for 65 and over.

Support for mourning becomes a necessity. 48% of 18-34 year olds say they need the support of a professional to overcome their loss, against 18% for 65 and over. For 90% of dog owners, say goodbye to an animal deserves as much respect and rituals as a human mourning. This societal development creates new economic needs. Faced with the need to honor the animal’s memory, 28% of respondents are still unaware of the existence of animal funeral services, while 9% have already recourse and 30% declared themselves.

Among dog owners, 41% wish to use animal funeral. For 80% of them, the well-being of their dog comes above all, and 81% say they are deeply anxious by the end of life of their companion.

It is clear that “PET parenting” reveals a deep transformation of our Western societies, where the animal becomes the receptacle of affects previously reserved for human relations. An evolution that redraws the contours of the modern family and opens up new horizons for the actors of the “Pet Economy”. Because love, decidedly, does not know any species of species.