NEW YORK — Getting a dog may do more than just provide you with a new best friend, if you’re single. It very well may be the key to finding the love of your life. That’s because a new survey of 2,000 American online dating users finds that about two in five have “swiped right,” or showed interest in another user solely because they wanted to hang out with the dog featured in one of their pictures.
Of the 2,000 participants in the survey, which was commissioned by pet food brand “I and love and you,” half owned a dog. Incredibly, 63% of dog owners in the survey said that including their pet in their profile photo helped them find success matching with others online.
Online daters know that they have to be extremely judicious when choosing which pictures of themselves to include on their dating app profiles. As such, even people who don’t own dogs recognize the advantage of including a furry friend in dating app pictures. To that point, 39% admit to actually borrowing a friend’s dog to pose with in their dating profile! However, this clever workaround doesn’t always pay off. Of those who have borrowed a dog for this purpose, 53% of their dating matches were “very upset” when they found out the truth.
Of course, dishonesty in the world of online dating isn’t anything new. Besides white lies about dogs, 58% of the survey respondents have matched with someone who didn’t look like their profile picture, and 49% have matched with users who were untruthful in their personal description or bio.
The survey also asked respondents about how pets can influence their romantic relationships.
In all, 37% of survey respondents said they have experienced a breakup that was at least partially caused by a pet. Another 69% said they’ve found themselves missing an ex’s dog more than their actual lost love, and 53% worried that their pet would feel abandoned after a breakup. Finally, 31% said they stayed in a relationship longer than they should have because they couldn’t bear to leave their partner’s pet at the time.
“We believe pets are people too, so not only can a breakup be heartbreaking with your human partner, it can sometimes be even harder knowing you won’t see your furry companion every day,” says Lindsey Rabaut, vice president of marketing at “I and love and you,” in a statement. “We want the best for them, even more so after a breakup.”
An astounding 60% of respondents said that they would rather spend Valentine’s Day with their pet instead of a romantic partner! Perhaps it’s no surprise then that of the 1,000 dog owners surveyed, 83% admit they crave extra love and affection from their pets when Cupid’s holiday rolls around each year.
In fact, most surveyed dog owners even do something special for their pup on Valentine’s Day. For example, 45% buy their pet a new toy, 44% feed them a special dinner, and 44% treat their dog to a special snack.
A surprising amount of dog owners take things to new heights to show their love. One third of pup-owning respondents say they went as far to get a tattoo of their dog. So if you do decide to swipe right on a person with a pet, just prepare for some hefty competition from a furry companion.
The survey was conducted by OnePoll.