ATLANTA -- Man's best friend might just be treated like any other animal depending on where the owners live, says a study by David Blouin, assistant professor of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Indiana University South Bend, who found that people who think of animals as children tend to have a city background.
"To think of pets as just another animal is not uncommon in rural areas," Blouin said, "which makes sense given the utilitarian relationships people in rural areas are more likely to have with a range of different animals -- from farm to wild animals."