Now that you mention it, it does seem like a pretty obvious reason why a lot of people get pets. I noticed that, for example, a lot of people who live in houses have dogs and don't seem to take very good care of them. They keep them on a chain and feed them only table scraps. They reason seem to be that "a yard looks empty without a dog" (I've heard this from people in person enough times to make me really sad). It's normal to see a man walking a "dangerous" breed of dog, especially if he's younger. The female version are the so-called toy breeds. Of course, some of those people really do love and care for their pets, but it seems like it's a lifestyle statement a lot of the time. I notice that some dogs in the city spend a lot of their lives locked out on apartment balcony's, especially the nights. And I see toy breeds, especially poodles, with shaved fur even in the winter! It would be really nice if there was some control over who gets to keep a pet.
