Seems suspicious: 3 horses per person? Danger of statistics (or does it mean that people with horses own, on average, three) Statistics on pet ownership in 2001 from the latest Statistical Abstract of the United States, released Tuesday by the Census Bureau: Percent of pet-owning households that owned a: Dog: 36.1 percent Cat: 31.6 percent Pet bird: 4.6 percent Horse: 1.7 percent Average number of pets owned, by type of pet: Dog: 1.6 Cat: 2.1 Pet bird: 2.1 Horse: 3 Percent of households seeking veterinary care, by pet owned: Dog: 85 percent Cat: 66.8 percent Pet bird: 12.9 percent Horse: 56.7 percent Average visits to veterinarian, per household per year, by pet owned: Dog: 2.8 Cat: 1.9 Pet bird: 0.3 Horse: 2.2 Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Veterinary Medical Association