Pets adopt behaviors of their owners

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half of America's cats and dogs are overweight, and 20 percent are obese. Frank Farley, a psychologist at Temple, says people's eating habits can trickle down to their pets. "Our pets become very close to us, and so it would not be surprising to me that pets reflect a lot of features of owners' behavior," Farley says. "They're really a part of the family in so many cases, and therefore how the family behaves impacts the pet."
April 5, 2011 | News Journal (Del.)