Would you choose your spouse over your pet?

Who would you or your veterinary co-workers dump: your partner or your pet? According to an AP-Petside.com poll, 84 percent of pet owners said they'd hold on to their spouse or significant other. However, sometimes you just can't beat the loyalty of a dog: a sizeable 14 percent of respondents picked their pet.

Of course, those who are unmarried are more likely to choose their pet over their mate-25 percent among unmarried pet owners vs. 8 percent among the married. And women are far more likely than men to say the human-pet choice would be a tough one: 40 percent among women compared to 26 percent among men. Both genders were equally likely to go with their spouse or significant other, according to the poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. In case you were wondering, there was no difference between dog and cat owners: 35 percent of each said the choice would be a hard one and more than 80 percent would choose their spouse.

Forty-seven percent of urban dwellers are more likely to say they'd have a difficult time choosing than did suburbanites (35 percent) or rural residents (25 percent). And one-third of current pet owners said it would be extremely or very difficult if they were forced to choose between a pet and a family member who became allergic. Another 20 percent would find the choice somewhat difficult and 46 percent said it would be “not too difficult” or “not difficult at all.”