Investigation: Is PetCo Selling What We Need for Our Pets? (Part 1)

I got started with this project when I learned what pets are the most popular. I had predicted that mammals would be the most popular pets, because you always seem to notice people with their mammal pets. And by mammal, I mean even people who have rats, like me. It’s more unusual to hear people say they have a lizard or a hermit crab.

I looked at information from the American Pet Products Association, and I had to add up the different kinds of mammals (cats, dogs, equines or horses, and small animals). I also had to add up the fish together, saltwater and freshwater.

My Mom and I put the information into the computer.  Here’s what I found:

Using the computer, we made a chart to show this information differently:

My prediction that mammals were going to be the most popular pets was correct, but people sure do own a lot of fish!

This made me think about the PetCo near me, because I go there a lot, and I was pretty sure most of the stuff there was for mammals, not fish, reptiles or birds. I was pretty sure the store didn’t have tons of stuff for fish, even though people own a lot of them. Also, I didn’t think I’d ever seen horse products at the PetCo near me.

So, I went to the PetCo near me and counted the rows and displays of products for each kind of animal. In the next part of this investigation, I will share what I found.

Be sure to check back soon!