This is Idaho's Most Popular Pet Besides Dogs & Cats (Really?)

Given the recent hype about National Pet Day & National Puppy Day, it’s become pretty evident to me that Idahoans really love their dogs … and their cats. I have to say cats. But dogs are clearly better.

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Okay, but other than dogs and cats, does Idaho have a third favorite pet?

USA Today created a fun article for National Pet Day called Guinea pigs, hamsters and more: What's your state's most popular pet (besides cats and dogs)?

They said, “Officials say most households in the United States have at least one pet. But aside from ever-popular cats and dogs, what are some of the other most popular pets across the country? Google Trends shared a map with USA TODAY of the most searched pets by state, excluding cats and dogs, with guinea pigs, chinchillas, bearded dragons, sugar gliders and hamsters.”

Of course, I was curious to know what Idaho’s is, and if you’re like me, you’re not gonna believe this…

Photo by Tanya Kusova on Unsplash

CHINCHILLA

Chinchillas?! What the heck are Chinchillas?!

Well, maybe that’s exactly why Chinchillas are showing up in Google search trends for the state of Idaho — because we don’t know what they are! (Or maybe I’m the only one and I’m crazy.)

So, I gave it a try, and if you Google "Chinchilla," you get local listings of pet stores along with this definition from Wikipedia: "Chinchillas are either of two species of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America."

How they became one of Idaho's favorite pets remains a mystery.

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