Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/creepy-pets-dealbreakers/

We all know that a pet can be a dealbreaker in a relationship, even dogs and cats. But they can also be used as babe or hunk magnets during the dating process. It just depends on where your head’s at when it comes to certain creatures or even the individual animal’s behavior.

According to a recent survey conducted by Woodstream, there are certain pets that score far higher on the dealbreaker chart than others. The survey asked 1,000 people about their pets and if they’d ever initiated a relationship with someone or had broken it off due to a pet.

Pet Surveys

Of the participants, 70 percent of those queried were dog owners, and 50 percent had cats. The questions covered a number of pet-related topics concerning views held and pet parenting habits. The division between adopting shelter pets versus getting them from family and friends was pretty evenly split. However, nearly half of those involved felt that getting a pet from a shelter or rescue was far sexier. We’d have to agree.

When asked which kind of pets people found to be the most unappealing, 77 percent of women understandably listed spiders and 66 percent of men had to agree. Other “creepy” pets that made the list included snakes, reptiles, mice, hamsters, ferrets, bees, ants, chickens, and goats. Ants as pets? Moving right along…

Singles Surveys

The survey also covered using pets as a way to hit on people or get dates. It turns out men are guiltier of this maneuver than women, with 21 percent of males admitting to using the well-known tactic as compared to just 8 percent of women.

When examining which creatures were most likely to cost singles a second date, spiders topped the list, with snakes and rats bringing up the rear in a tight race.

Dating in the 21st Century

So, what it now boils down to in this day and age is that, when it comes to dating, pets matter far more than you might have previously thought. If you happen to be an arachnid lover, you may want to want to keep it on the down low until your date has a chance to get to know you better. Once they fall for you, it won’t matter as much — hopefully.

If you’d rather not hide your interests, which is fair enough, perhaps frequenting reptile or wildlife sanctuaries might provide you with a more suitable dating pool filled with like-minded individuals. Until you figure it out, you might want to leave it off of your dating profiles.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog