A recent study says that 85 million families in the United States own a pet. The American Pet Products Association’s study for the years 2017-2018 says that represents 68 percent of all families in the U.S. Thirty years ago, when the study was first done, 56 percent of families owned a pet. The survey found dogs are the most popular pets. Sixty-point-two percent of homes own one. Cats are the second most popular with 47.1 percent of families reporting they had a cat. Freshwater fish came in third with 12.5 percent. Nicki Dobson is head of marketing and communication for Three Dog Bakery. The business calls itself the original bakery for dogs. She said pets have become especially popular among Americans in the past 10 years. She said, "People are having more pets and less children.