189 Funny Pet Quotes And Sayings For All Animal Lovers

For those of us who love animals, pet quotes like these speak straight to the pawprints on our hearts.

By Norbert Juma | Updated November 14, 2023

Whether you’re a lover of dogs or crazy about cats, pet quotes make you smile inside at the thought of the love we feel for our four-legged friends.

For those of us who share our lives with pets, these pet quotes will make you smile from the inside out.

Don’t forget to share them with someone who loves pets just as much as you so they can smile.

Tell us your favorite pet quote in the comment section below.

Take a moment to check out our Veterinary Quotes for Pet Lovers article, too!

What are the benefits of reading these pet quotes?

Pet-keeping is a common part of many cultures.

Humans have been sharing their lives with animals from time immemorial.

The benefits of having a pet include:

stroking your dog or combing the cat can make you happy and de-stress you
having a dog gives you a great excuse to get out and exercise
teaching you responsibility
helping to manage loneliness and depression

Running along a park trail or simply taking a walk around your neighborhood with your canine companion can help you get into better physical shape.

Studies also suggest that people with friendly animals are more trustworthy and approachable.

Though pet-keeping can be a costly and time-consuming business, our innate attraction to cute or small animals is not going anywhere.

In that respect, our collection of cute, adorable, and inspirational pet quotes and sayings is below.

Enjoy!

Also, check out these beautiful horse quotes that will inspire you to take a ride.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.

Pet Quotes and Sayings for All Animal Lovers

1. “Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” – George Eliot

2. “I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul.” – Jean Cocteau

You will also enjoy our article on loss of a dog quotes.

3. “Time spent with cats is never wasted.” – Sigmund Freud

4. “Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” – Mary Bly

5. “Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent.” – Milan Kundera

6. “No matter how little money and how few possessions you own, having a dog makes you feel rich.” – Louis Sabin

7. “The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” – M.K. Clinton

8. “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” – Immanuel Kant

9. “Anyone can learn how to communicate with animals if they are open to the process and willing to practice.” – Karen A Anderson

Pet Quotes about communication with animals

10. “Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life.” – James Cromwell

Pet quotes about love and loyalty

11. “Animals are sentient, intelligent, perceptive, funny and entertaining. We owe them a duty of care as we do to children.” – Michael Morpurgo

You will also enjoy our article on cuddle quotes.

12. “Sometimes, your pet picks you.” –Julie Wenzel

13. “Animals are reliable, many full of love, true in their affections, predictable in their actions, grateful and loyal. Difficult standards for people to live up to.” – Alfred A. Montapert

14. “An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” – Martin Buber

15. “My relationships with my cats has saved me from a deadly, pervasive ignorance.” – William S. Burroughs

Pet Quotes about relationship with animals

16. “A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” – Chinese Proverb

17. “Be kind to all pets and animals because they will be kind back to you.” – Wesley Porter

18. “You learn in this business: If you want a friend, get a dog.” – Carl Icahn

19. “I really love pets. They’re like children. They know if you really love them or not. You can’t fool them.” – Donna Douglas

20. “Those who love dogs, know something about God.” – Fakeer Ishavardas

21. “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” – Albert Schweitzer

Adorable pet quotes that shoot straight to the heart

22. “Dogs got personality. Personality goes a long way.” – Quentin Tarantino

23. “What greater gift than the love of a cat?” – Charles Dickens

24. “Cats have it all – admiration, an endless sleep, and company only when they want it.” – Rod McKuen

25. “Pets, like their owners, tend to expand a little over the Christmas period.” – Frances Wright

26. “I’ve met many thinkers and many cats, but the wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” – Hippolyte Taine

27. “Indeed, there is nothing on this earth more peaceful than a sleeping, purring cat.” – Jonathon Scott Payne

28. “Birds teach us something very important: To whatever height you rise, you will finally come down to the ground!” – Mehmet Murat ildan

29. “Happiness is a warm puppy.” – Charles M. Schulz

30. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” –Anatole France

Check out our collection of black cat quotes if you enjoy this article.

Pet quotes to celebrate our furry friends

31. “There’s a saying. If you want someone to love you forever, buy a dog, feed it and keep it around.” – Dick Dale

32. “Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

33. “The bond with a dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth can ever be.” – Konrad Lorenz

34. “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” – James Herriot

35. “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” ― Colette

36. “Pets reflect you like mirrors. When you are happy, you can see your dog smiling and when you are sad, your cat cries.” –Munia Khan

37. “To me, a cat is an easy pet, they don’t need any spoiling or looking after.” – Karl Pilkington

38. “Cats know how to obtain food without labor, shelter without confinement, and love without penalties.” – Walter Lionel George

39. “Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.” – Amy Sedaris

40. “I think dogs are the most amazing creatures; they give unconditional love. For me they are the role model for being alive.” – Gilda Radner

Don’t forget to also read these snake quotes that will make your fears disappear.

Awesome pet quotes that will make you smile

41. “The purity of a person’s heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals” – Anonymous

42. “If there is a heaven, it’s certain our animals are to be there. Their lives become so interwoven with our own, it would take more than an archangel to detangle them.” – Pam Brown

43. “All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.” – Samuel Butler

44. “Dogs laugh, but they laugh with their tails.” –Max Eastman

45. “The cat is there when you call her – if she doesn’t have something better to do.” – Bill Alder

46. “There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.” – Robert Lynd

47. “Did you ever walk into a room and forget why you walked in? I think that is how dogs spend their lives.” – Sue Murphy

48. “I believe all animals were created by God to help keep man Alive.” – Iwao Fujita

49. “There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” – Ben Williams

50. “Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.” – Douglas Coupland

More pet quotes and sayings

51. “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” – Andy Rooney

52. “Pets have more love and compassion in them than most humans.” – Robert Wagner

53. “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” – Roger Caras

54. “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.” – Josh Billings

55. Here, Gentlemen, a dog teaches us a lesson in humanity.” – Napoleon Bonaparte

56. What a dog I got, his favorite bone is in my arm.” – Rodney Dangerfield

57. “Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.” – Robert A. Heinlein

58. “If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat.” – Mark Twain

59. “Kittens are wide-eyed, soft and sweet. With needles in their jaws and feet.” – Pam Brown

60. “Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.” – Kinky Friedman

61. “My little dog – a heartbeat at my feet.” – Eddie Wharton

62. “Dogs’ lives are too short. Their only fault, really.” – Agnes Sligh Turnbull

63. “Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.” – Franklin P. Jones

64. “Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.” – Franklin P. Jones

65. “Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day.” – John Grogan

66. “If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.” – Harry Truman

67. “It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.” – John Grogan

68. “The greatest fear dogs know is the fear that you will not come back when you go out the door without them.” – Stanley Coren
69. “What do dogs do on their day off? Can’t lie around—that’s their job.” – George Carlin

Funny pet quotes and sayings

70. “Dogs teach us a very important lesson in life: The mail man is not to be trusted.” – Sian Ford

71. “My cats inspire me daily. They inspire me to get a dog!” – Greg Curtis

72. “Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul, chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we’re the greatest hunters on earth!” – Anne Tyle

73. “I don’t think twice about picking up my dog’s poop, but if another dog’s poop is next to it, I think, ‘Eww, dog poop!” – Jonah Goldberg

74. “A well trained dog will make no attempt to share your lunch. He will just make you feel so guilty that you cannot enjoy it.” – Helen Thomson

75. “If aliens saw us walking our dogs and picking up their poop, who would they think is in charge?” – Unknown

76. “You can trust your dog to guard your house but never trust your dog to guard your sandwich.” – Unknown

77. “Dogs are like potato chips. You can’t have just one.” – Unknown

78. “My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That’s almost $21.00 in dog money.” – Joe Weinstein

79. “No home decor is complete without dog hair.” – Unknown

Other funny and heartwarming pet quotes and sayings

80. “You can’t ever be a cat owner; in the best of cases it allows you to be their companion.” – Harry Swanson

81. “Dogs eat. Cats dine.” – Ann Taylor

82. “Once a cat loves you, it loves you till the end.” – Will Advise

83. “I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross, and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk.” – Mark Haddon

84. “I was thinking of getting a German Shepherd once, but I didn’t want to learn another language just to have a dog.” – Unknown

95. “If you think dogs can’t count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them.” – Phil Pastoret

96. “Choosing a dog may be the only chance you get to pick a relative.” – Unknown

97. “If you want the best seat in the house, you’ll have to move the dog.” – Unknown

98. “The dog lives for the day, the hour, even the moment.” – Robert Falcon Scott

99. “The dog that trots about finds a bone.” – Golda Meir

Pet quotes for animal lovers

100. “It’s difficult to understand why people don’t realize that pets are gifts to mankind.” -Linda Blair

101. “Parrots make great pets. They have more personality than goldfish.” -Chevy Chase

102. “Pets have made us better.” -Beth Ostrosky Stern

103. “People that love dogs have an emotional connection with them and I just think they are the most loving and fun pets you can have.” -Steve Backshall

104. “I don’t treasure things much – just people. And pets.” -Felicity Kendal

105. “People really do spend a lot of money on their pets – sometimes more then themselves.” -Oksana Baiul

106. “Adopted pets are the best pets you can have.” -Josh Duhamel

107. “I’ve learned from my pets that it’s okay to sit around, and people don’t love you any less if you sit around all the time.” -Maria Bamford

108. “Pets inspire many different types of behaviour in their owners, mostly ranging from adoration to ridiculous obsessiveness, in my experience.” -Sheherazade Goldsmith

109. “I think pets are a good thing, especially if you get them out of a shelter.” -Mitchel Musso

Pet Quotes For The Adorable Bond With Pets

110. “Cats have a scam going – you buy the food, they eat the food, they go away; that’s the deal.” — Eddie Izzard

111. “The better I get to know men, the more I find myself loving dogs.” — Charles de Gaulle

112. “The truth is that it’s just really hard for me to get to sleep without a dog in my bedroom.” — Jimmy Stewart

113. “A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.” — Ernest Hemingway

114. “My idea of absolute happiness is to be in bed on a rainy day with my blankie, my cat, and my dog.” — Anne Lamott

115. “If you hold a cat by the tail you learn things you cannot learn any other way.” — Mark Twain

116. “A kitten is in the animal world what a rosebud is in the garden.” — Robert Southey

117. “Kittens are angels with whiskers.” — Alexis Flora Hope

118. “If dogs could talk, perhaps we would find it as hard to get along with them as people.” — Capek

119. “There is no faith which has never yet been broken, except that of a truly faithful dog.” — Konrad Lorenz

Pet Quotes That Will Make You Embrace Pet Ownership

120. “My favorite type of pet has always been a dog. They’re loyal, kind and offer endless affection.” — Brendon Urie

121. “Pets understand humans better than humans do.” — Ruchi Prabhu

122. “Recruit your pet as a study partner. Cats are usually more than happy to do this—in fact, you may have trouble keeping them off keyboards and books—and dogs will often serve as well. Few things are more relaxing than having a warm, furry creature next to you as you study.” — Stefanie Weisman

123. “If you accept that pets can love us as much as we do them, then the logic is clear and cannot be denied. If you believe that there is a heaven for people, then they must be there, waiting for us, when we cross over. Heaven is love, and pets always share that with us.” — Wallace Sife

124. “Pets bring vital energy to our homes and lives. Pets communicate many messages about love and connection. Care tenderly for all pets throughout their precious lives. The interspecies dance of love softens and expands the heart.” — Laura Staley

125. “Petting, scratching, and cuddling a dog could be as soothing to the mind and heart as deep meditation and almost as good for the soul as prayer.” — Dean Koontz

126. “My philosophy when it came to pets was much like that of having children: You got what you got, and you loved them unconditionally regardless of whatever their personalities or flaws turned out to be.” — Gwen Cooper

127. “Perhaps the greatest gift an animal has to offer is a permanent reminder of who we really are.” ― Nick Trout

128. “Our pets are our family.” ― Ana Monnar

129. “Armadillos make affectionate pets, if you need affection that much.” ― Will Cuppy

Pet Quotes About Their Genuine Nature To Relate Well With Humans

130. “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” ― Dean Koontz

131. “Oh the saddest of sights in a world of sin Is the little lost pup with his tail tucked in.” ― Arthur Guiterman

132. “When they are among us cats are angels.” ― George Sand

133. “It often happens that a man is more humanely related to a cat or dog than to any human being.” ― Henry David Thoreau

134. “They’re not so bad. They just need some attention. …Like pets. Or my brother.” ― Rick Riordan

135. “A puppy is but a dog, plus high spirits, and minus common sense.” ― Agnes Repplier

136. “Surround yourself with what you love, whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.” ― George Carlin

137. “Joyful, joyful, joyful, as only dogs know how to be happy with only the autonomy of their shameless spirit.” ― Pablo Neruda

138. “A cat is the only domestic animal I know who toilet trains itself and does a damned impressive job of it.” ― Joseph Epstein

139. “I have a very old and very faithful attachment for dogs. I like them because they always forgive.” ― Albert Camus

Pet Quotes for Animals That Keep You Company

140. “As far as pets go, a cat is a nice on to have.” — Adam Rex

141. “I don’t have any pets, so I get to walk around the house naked. So I’m more free.” — Brendon Urie

142. “I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better.” — George Bird Evans

143. “One day, we would like an end to pet shops and the breeding of animals.” — Ingrid Newkirk

144. “I love animals and feel very strongly that people should not be allowed to buy a pet if they are not able to look after it.” — Kirsty Gallacher

145. “I always pet a dog with my left hand because if he bit me, I’d still have my right hand to paint with.” — Juan Gris

146. “I am from Brooklyn, NY, so we could not have many pets, but I always had at least two dogs.” — Connie Stevens

147. “I love cats. I’ve had cats as pets.” — Sam Raimi

148. “Pets are always a great help in times of stress. And in times of starvation too, of course.” — Terry Pratchett

149. “I’d rather have an inch of a dog than miles of pedigree.” — Dana Burnet

Pet Quotes To Keep You Company

150. “Pets do not just substitute for human relationships, they complement and add to them, giving a special and unique dimension to human life.” ― Alan M. Beck

151. “Pets are important, especially for kids without brothers and sisters. They can get close to this animal and they both can grow up to love one another.” ― Michael Robin

152. “Pets can provide very important information about how the family system is organized or disorganized.” ― Michael Robin

153. “Pets receive special attention intended to promote their well-being, at least as people understand that condition.” ― Katherine C. Grier

154. “If for some reason I had to live without my pets, I would find the world a much lonelier, colder place.” ― Charles H. Rudolph

155. “Pets facilitate introduction by being social lubricants. They provide a neutral subject of conversation and perform a variety of functions as social catalysts.” ― Jean E. Veevers

156. “Pets could furnish an ‘every-fresh source of happiness to those who love them.’” ― Olive Thorne Miller

157. “Pets can be introduced to encourage loving and caring responses.” ― Marvin B. Sussman

158. “The way people pamper their pets is ridiculous. Have you heard the latest? Elevator paws for dachshunds.” ― Robert Orben

159. “Pets can coax smiles and words out of socially withdrawn institutionalized patients of all ages.” ― Alan M. Beck

Pet Quotes Celebrating Our Furry Friends

160. “All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not intend. Art isn’t your pet — it’s your kid. It grows up and talks back to you.” ― Joss Whedon

161. “A dog, I have always said, is prose; a cat is a poem.” ― Jean Burden

162. “A cat sleeps fat, yet walks thin.” ― Fred Schwab

163. “If you have a dog, you will most likely outlive it; to get a dog is to open yourself to profound joy and, prospectively, to equally profound sadness.” ― Marjorie Garber

164. “People have been asking me if I was going to have kids, and I had puppies instead.” ― Kate Jackson

165. “Resentments are like stray dogs,if you don’t pet them, they will go away.” ― Sandi Bachom

166. “Never stand between a dog and the hydrant.” ― John Peers

167. “I had a little dog and my dog was very small….Of all the treasures that were mine, I loved him most of all.” ― Francis Cornford

168. “Every time I decide I want a child I get another pet. I have 3 dogs, 13 birds and 3 horses, what does that tell you?” ― Alyssa Milano

169. “My idea of a perfect pet is a really, really big dog! Huge!” ― Emily VanCamp

Pet Quotes that Capture the Bond with Pets

170. “I’m looking more like my dogs every day – it must be the shaggy fringe and the ears.” ― Christine McVie

171. “Animals generally return the love you lavish on them by a swift bite in passing-not unlike friends and wives.” ― Gerald Durrell

172. “Just watching my cats can make me happy.” ― Paula Cole

173. “I rarely meddled in the cat’s personal affairs and she rarely meddled in mine. Neither of us was foolish enough to attribute human emotions to our pets.” ― Kinky Friedman

174. “A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk.” ― Orlando Aloysius Battista

175. “The more I see of man, the more I like dogs.” ― Madame de Stael

176. “Pet lovers know that animals sometimes understand us better than we do, and the annals of human sin and desire provide plenty of stories to drive the point home.” ― Tony Snow

177. “At least with pets, and for all I know, people too, intelligence and quick-wittedness have nothing to do with a talent for being loved, or being kind, nothing at all, less than nothing.” ― Charles Baxter

178. “As with all my new pets, I gently bit each kitten on the face. This is how I let my animals know that I am now their mother.” ― Martha Stewart

179. “We all have our pet things that we like to get religious about.” ― Max Cannon

180. “When a man’s best friend is his dog, the dog has a problem.” — Edward Abbey

181. “I’ve never had any luck with pets. I once had a turtle I had to send to obedience school.” — Robert Orben

182. “Dogs have important jobs, like barking when the doorbell rings, but cats have no function in a house whatsoever.” — W. Bruce Cameron

183. “I don’t understand people who don’t touch their pets. Their cat or dog is called a pet for a reason.” — Jarod Kintz

184. “I used to have some fish, some nice little carp, but they got too big for the tank. I don’t have any pets now.” — Tom Felton

185. “I’ve always had a fascination for animals. I loved watching them, and even then I thought of them as beings rather than pets. I call it a birth affect!” — Tippi Hedren

186. “Well-washed and well-combed domestic pets grow dull; they miss the stimulus of fleas.” — Francis Galton

187. “I’m not about to go out and buy a snake for a pet. I mean, I may have faced a few fears but I’m not insane.” — Kristin Davis

188. “It’s like having a pet dog for a long time. You get attached to it, and when it dies you miss it.” — Jesse Owens

189. “Everyone’s pet is the most outstanding. This begets mutual blindness.” — Jean Cocteau

Which of these pet quotes and sayings is your favorite?

Making an animal part of the family is universal to humans.

For tens of thousands of years, people have had an innate attraction to friendly animals.

Though sometimes it’s difficult to explain exactly why people keep pets, there’s no denying that our four-legged friends are only getting cuter and more lovable.