Public Policy Poll shows dogs are the preferred pet

There are "dog people," and there are "cat people" -- and a new poll from Public Policy Polling says 52% choose dogs, while just 21% choose cats as their preferred pet of choice.

The poll on animals and pets found that 61% of voters said they owned a pet -- and one in five says they would prefer to spend time with their pets over most human beings.

The poll found that rural Americans are more likely to prefer the company of animals to human beings.

The poll found women are slightly more likely to own a pet (64%).

Additionally, women who own pets are also put more time into caring for them, with 16% of women spending more than 10 hours caring for their pets compared to just 9% for men.

As a whole, Americans are more terrified of snakes than any other animal, with 21% of respondents claiming they were the scariest.

As for exotic pets -- the poll found that when picking what they’d most like to have as an exotic pet, 26% chose a tiger, 20% a giraffe, 18% a dinosaur, 16% an elephant, 14% a polar bear and 6% an alligator.

Vegans and vegetarians are more unified on which animal they would like to own, with 49% saying a dinosaur was their preferred exotic pet, compared to just 16% of meat eaters.

When asked which would make a better President based on their personalities, 37% of voters choose a dog, 19% a cat and 45% aren’t sure.