National Pet Day is a day close to the heart of all pet lovers. This April national day, founded in 2005, gives us a chance to show our pets how much we love them.
Earlier this year we had Cuddly Kitten Day and National Puppy Day but today is the day for pets in general.
What does your pet really like to do? Maybe it’s going for a walk, or playing fetch. Whatever they enjoy, today is the day to engage in those activities with them!
Keep reading for a list of fun facts about pets and to learn how to celebrate National Pet Day.
Ways to celebrate National Pet Day
National Pet Day is the perfect day to show some extra love to your own pet, or to visit an animal shelter to bond with some of their pets. Pets are so important in our lives. Let’s celebrate them today with the ideas below.
- Take your pooch for a walk. They love this time spent with you and it helps you to get fit.
- Locate National Pet Day in this free April word search that features the national days of the month.
- Give your pet their favorite treat.
- Read quotes about black cats, learn the mythology surrounding them, and discover the national day devoted to them.
- Donate to an Animal shelter or pet welfare organization.
- Keep your dog happy by engaging in a game of fetch with your dog and other fun ideas.
- Take treats and toys to your local animal shelter.
- Go on a road trip with your pet.
- Find a new toy to treat your pet.
- Head to an animal shelter to consider adopting a rescue pet.
- Share pictures of your pet with your friends on social media.
- Looking for a new pet? Adopt instead of buying. There are thousands of neglected and unwanted animals just looking for love and attention.
- Use the hashtags #nationalpetday and #petday to help spread awareness of this day to your pet loving friends.
Fun facts about pets
Now that you know how to celebrate National Pet Day, it’s time to learn some fun facts about pets!.
- Cats have 64 muscles in their two ears!
- Pet owners spend over $60 billion dollars on their pets each year.
- Nearly 80 million households in the United States have a pet.
- 80 million pets dogs and almost 86 million pet cats have a home in the US.
- Parrots are the nation’s fourth most popular pet. (Did you know that lovebirds – one of the symbols of Valentine’s Day) are a variety of parrot?)
- Goldfish can live 30-40 years as a pet, in the right conditions.
- Adult dogs normally have about 42 teeth
- The average cat sleeps about 13 to 14 hours per day.
Pet photos for National Pet Day
One fun way to celebrate national pet day is to take photos of your pet. Here are some of the pets we had over the years.
Rosie was our first pet. She lived for 13 years and had a fondness for shoes!
Rusty was a stray. We found his original owners and they later decided to get rid of him and contacted us. We had him for 8 years. His nickname was “Big Boy.”
Frannie came to us from a breeder who could no longer breed her. She lived to the age of 10 and was with us 5 years.
Ashleigh came from the same breeder as Frannie (with her sister Sassy). She was my walking buddy! We had her for 11 years and she died on the day of my mother’s funeral.
Sassy was Ashleigh’s sister and could not have been more different. She loved dog toys. The two litter mates are Frannie’s grandchildren.
Having Sassy for 10 years, was so special because it was almost like having Frannie back with us. They were two peas in a pod!
Layla was a shelter dog that we fostered for almost one year. She had epilepsy and many other health problems but was one of the most good natured dogs out there.
Baron was the last dog that we had. He also was a foster dog and was with us about a year. He had the sweetest nature and we miss him terribly.
Do you have a picture of your pet? Upload it to the comments below so that we can say hello!
More national days about pets
Looking for more national days that honor pets? Check out the days below:
Share this National Pet Day post on X
Have you enjoyed learning how to celebrate National Pet Day? Let your friends and family know about it, and these pet facts by sharing this post:
It's National Pet Day. Adopt, don't shop. #nationalpetday #petday 😻🕊🐶🐍🐢 Share on XPin this post with fun facts about pets on Pinterest
Would you like a reminder of this post about National Pets Day? Just pin the image below to one of your national day boards on Pinterest so you can easily find it later.
You can also watch this YouTube video to learn about more of the national days this month!
