Young Poor People Prefer Pets to People on Valentine’s Day

Is the pressure of Valentine’s Day getting to you? There’s the big spending on flowers, candy, cards, dinner, Pajama grams and lingere. There’s the heightened expectations around expressing your love in the most abundant way possible, giving many people anxiety about the upcoming day of romance. Perhaps that’s why nearly 25% percent of people in a recent survey say they would prefer to spend time with their pet on Valentine’s Day than their spouse.

It’s only 1 out of every 5 people, but still. Ouch. Puppy love just got a whole new meaning.

The interesting part of the survey wasn’t that the French seem to be more in love than the rest of the 22 countries surveyed, with only 10% saying they’d rather pet their pets on Valentine’s Day. It was the socioeconomic correlation between those that would prefer to spend the day with their furry friend than their significant other. The younger and poorer of the 24,000 people surveyed were more likely to choose their pet over their spuse for Valentine’s Day. Additionally notable is the fact that men and women were split evenly over this specific demographic.

Another ouch.

I guess a pet really is man and woman’s best friend. Forget Marilyn Monroe and her silly diamonds. Just give me a perfect pooch with undying love. Never mind that a pet can’t talk, has a tendency to chew and scratch shoes and furniture, and often has accidents on hardwood and carpeted floors. They still love us to death, and apparently we love them just as much.

Then again, maybe that’s the point. What does it really say about those 25% of the less affluent when they choose their pets over their human companions? I suppose the pressures of Valentine’s Day really can get to you. And when I think about it, my boyfriend and I already got our dogs Valentine’s Day shirts, though we have yet to decide what we’ll be doing for each other. Maybe there is something to this whole pet love thing. A new trend, even?

I can’t say that I’d rather spend the entire day of romance with my dog than my man, but it’s clear that our modern concepts around Valentine’s Day are thoroughly affecting our ability to enjoy it for what it is. Valentine’s Day should be every day. It’s cliche, but if you come to that understanding with your significant other, perhaps the pressure to spend money on Valentine’s Day will elude you. Then the two of you can get back to what Valentine’s Day should really be about–the two of you.

Dogs can’t eat chocolate anyway.