national dog day for social scientists

26th August is National Dog day

How many dogs are there in the UK?
According to RSPCA data in 2019. Dogs are the most popular pets
26% of the UK adult population have a dog with an estimated population of 9.9 million pet dogs


According to Statista this isnt the highest percentage as Germany is the nation with the most pet dogs in Europe

This makes a growing market for pet products
Statista quotes the market for dog treats in the uk as 462 million pounds in 2018. A rise from 268 in 2007.
Perhaps this contributes to the high cost of dog ownership as they give the figure of minimum annual costs of keeping a dog ranging from 840 British pounds for a small dog to 1,260 pounds for a large dog.

The economic outcome of pet ownership for the economy as a whole may be beneficial according to this fascinating article from the Adam Smith Institute in 2018 which considers the economic savings on healthcare .This summary from CABI also gives an abstract of the findings of a companion animal economics report


To get some facts on if dog ownership try searching Pubmed for medical articles.
This systematic review on dog ownership and survival examined
Studies published between 1950 and May 24, 2019. It found Dog ownership is associated with lower risk of death over the long term, which is possibly driven by a reduction in cardiovascular mortality. Dog ownership can also be associated with more physical exercise and contact with nature
other studies have focussed on mental health, an Australian study Longitudinal evidence of the impact of dog ownership and dog walking on mental health

VJ Day - research resources

Last week was the 75th anniversary of VJ the ending of the Second World War with Japan
Here are some recommended study resources

A good Starting point is the US government website
They have the official surrender document 
They also have this  blog posting which links to original photographs and other documents from the American Allied perspective

For the Uk, The Imperial war museum has some photographs of the VJ day celebrations
plus some rare colour footage of Londoners on the day

The National Archives blog has an interesting discussion, with original documents, of secret plans for British involvement in a possible invasion of Japan in 1945

Plus materials relating to the bombing of Hiroshima

Their website also has a detailed research guide covering the Second World War

Don't forget how the war ended. Hiroshima Peace Museum has an English language version for those not able to read Japanese. It includes atomic survivor oral testimonies.

International Cat day for social scientists!

International Cat Day is a celebration which takes place on 8 August, every year. It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

How many people in the Uk own a cat?

get the facts from the recent PDSA annual survey in 2019

• 50% of UK adults owned a pet.
• 24% of UK adults have a cat with an estimated population of 10.9 million pet cats
• however the most popular pet was a dog 26% of the UK adult population have a dog with an estimated population of 9.9 million pet

In February the Economist had a fascinating feature on countries which spent the most on their pets. USA ranked the highest.  Look at the chart to see where Britain was

In 2018 the Adam Smith Institute published a fascinating and fun article on cat and dog economics which estimates  way in which pet ownership can have a positive impact on health care expenditure if it reduces levels of mental anxiety in the population.

For some scientific evidence on the impact of pets on physical and mental well being try searching Pubmed

For information on cat welfare in the UK Pats Protection website has factsheets, news and information.