Lillie&Lee ResearchJune 20266 min read

The Pet Wellness Consumer Trends Report 2026

A first-of-its-kind look at how one of America's largest pet-loving communities cares for the whole family — the ones on two legs and the ones on four.

4,095 pet parents surveyed

This June, we asked our community to slow down and answer a few honest questions — about checkups and chews, vets and doctors, the supplements on the counter and the dog waiting underneath it. 5,000 pet parents answered, and 4,095 qualified responses became this report. We expected devotion. What we found was more interesting: a portrait of two patients sharing one wellness routine.

Because care taught on four legs doesn't stay there. It changes how a household eats, moves, trusts, and heals. Here is what surveyed pet parents told us — in four chapters.

Chapter 01 · The Bond

They're Not Pets. They're Family.

We started with the simplest question we could write: is your pet a full member of your family — not a possession, not a companion, but family? The answer barely left room for a chart.

95%strongly agree their pet is a full member of the family — 19 of every 20.
Q: “I see my pet as a full member of the family.” · % who strongly agree · n = 4,095

Only 1.4% of surveyed pet parents hesitated at the word “family.” And the bond does daily work: 97% agree that taking care of their pet gives their day a sense of purpose, and nearly 6 in 10 count their pet as a regular workout partner.

Pet parent walking with his dogs
58% of surveyed pet parents usually or always exercise with their pet.
Chapter 02 · The Pet Comes First

Checkups, Diet, Trust: the Pet Wins All Three.

Ask a pet parent about their own care and their pet's in the same breath, and a pattern appears: the pet goes first. In the past year, 74% of pets made it to a routine preventive visit — 66% of their people did. Nearly half call most of their pet's diet healthy; under a quarter say the same about their own plate.

74%
Checkup in past year
66%
74%
Checkup in past year
66%
48%
Diet mostly healthy
24%
72%
High trust in doctor
58%
Preventive visit within 12 months · diet rated 76–100% healthy · trust = “a great deal” or “a lot” · matched-pair questions, n = 4,095

The gap isn't about logistics. It's about trust.

The 14-Point Trust Gap.

72%
trust their vet
58%
trust their own doctor
High trust = “a great deal” + “a lot” of trust in medical advice · n = 4,095

Same household, same person deciding — and a 14-point gap between the exam table and the exam room. It shapes buying, too: when choosing a new supplement for the pet, the veterinarian is the single most trusted voice (35%), while a third of pet parents research their own supplements entirely from scratch.

Chapter 03 · Care Goes Both Ways

A Healthier Pet, A Healthier You.

Here's the twist: caring for a pet doesn't crowd out self-care — it appears to teach it. Most surveyed households now run one shared routine: 65% of pets got a daily or regular supplement in the past year, and 72% of their parents took one too.

65% of pets
72% of their parents
Gave / took a daily or regular supplement in the last 12 months · n = 4,095

Wellness in these homes isn't his-and-hers. It's whole-pack — the same instinct that fills the treat jar fills the pill organizer. That's the future we mean when we say “A Healthier Pet, A Healthier You.”

The whole pack together
Chapter 04 · The Next Chapter

The Dog Gets the CBD Before You Do.

No corner of the routine is moving faster than CBD — and the pets are leading. 29% of surveyed pet parents gave their pet a CBD supplement in the past year. Only 19% took one themselves.

The CBD Flip.

29%
for the pet
19%
for themselves
Gave / took a CBD supplement in the last 12 months · n = 4,095

They're open about it, too. When pet parents who use CBD bring it up at the clinic, the most common response they report from their veterinarian is support — while the same conversation with their own doctor happens far less often.

One more thread runs through everything: rescue. 4 in 10 surveyed pet parents cared for a rescue or foster pet in the past year — and those households do more of everything: 11 points more likely to give a daily pet supplement, 8 points more likely to use pet CBD, and the most likely of all to exercise with their pets. Care, it turns out, is a habit that compounds.

“Lillie taught me that when you care for a dog, you learn how to care for yourself. Four thousand pet parents just proved her right.”

— Lee Asher · Founder, Lillie&Lee

About This Report.

The Lillie&Lee Pet & Human Wellness Survey was fielded over two weeks in early June 2026 across the Asher House community. 5,000 responses were collected; 4,095 qualified responses form the basis of this report (respondents without a pet at home were screened out). No personally identifiable information was collected, participation was voluntary, and a completion coupon was disclosed. Respondents skew female (96%) with an average age of 63; 88.5% of households include at least one dog.

Figures are percentages of all qualified respondents unless noted. When citing, please attribute findings to “surveyed pet parents” from the Lillie&Lee community — not to all Americans.

About Lillie&Lee.

Lillie&Lee — Your Pet Family Company — is the next chapter of Asher House Wellness, founded by animal rescue advocate Lee Asher, whose Asher House sanctuary in Oregon has given hundreds of rescue dogs a second life. The brand is named for Lillie, the St. Bernard whose rescue started it all.

For Press & Media.

Every number on this page — plus full data tables, chart files sized for print and web, and the complete questionnaire — packaged for your story.

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Findings describe surveyed Lillie&Lee community pet parents (n = 4,095), not all U.S. pet owners.