Colorado May Not Want to Celebrate National Pet Day

National Pet Day is April 11th, and it's the one day a year we get an excuse to spoil our pets rotten. Well, not that most pet-owners really need such an excuse, otherwise they would only sell food at pet supply stores. Still, it's nice to have a day.

That being said, it may not be all puppy dog smiles and kitten-filled rainbows in Colorado for National Pet Day. In a shocking twist that I definitely did not see coming, it turns out that, for as much as we love dogs in Colorado, we don't actually like pets.

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Well, I'm not sure it's entirely accurate to claim that we don't like pets in the Centennial State, since a new study from BetColorado found that Coloradans just don't like pets as much as other states; most of them, in fact. Utilizing data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, they determined that Colorado's rate of pet ownership makes it one of the least pet-friendly states in the US.

Colorado claims a pet-ownership rate of about 47.2%, leaving us ranked at number 45 on the list of most pet-friendly states. Coming in behind us were South Dakota, Rhode Island, California, Alaska and Hawaii, respectively. In defense of Alaska's and Hawaii's presence on the list, there actually wasn't enough data to compare, but they had to reflect all 50 states.

Which state loves pets the most? Well, that honor belongs to Wyoming, of all places, with an average pet-ownership rate of 71.8%. I must admit I was surprised, until I remembered that Wyoming is boring, so you'd really need a pet to keep you company. Rounding out the top five were: West Virginia, Idaho, Vermont and Indiana. Check out the complete list, courtesy of BetColorado.