A TELEPHONE SURVEY ON ATTITUDES OF PET OWNERS AND NON-OWNERS TO DOGS AND CATS IN BELGIAN CITIES

A telephone survey was carried out in three Belgian cities: Brussels, Ghent, and Liege. In order to analyze aspects of the coexistence betwe en human beings and pets, 600 persons, including an equal number of ow ners and non-owners, were interviewed to determine reasons for pet own ership and problems associated with the presence of pets. Two district s from each city were included in the sample. Districts were selected based on type of residence (e.g. apartments, single family homes) and amount of open space. Results suggest that dogs and cats play an impor tant role in everyday life for many people and cause relatively little inconvenience.