While President-elect Obama has been busy filling his administration with key officials, his transition team is still in the process of choosing a candidate for a positions popular with a lot of Americans; the first family’s pet dog. Indeed, both the Obamas and Bidens will be joined by a new family dog in their new Washington homes, joining the 57% majority of Americans who own a pet. In fact, dog owners (39% of all adults) are the most common pet owners in America, outnumbering cat owners (23%) and owners of all other pets by substantial margin. More whites (64%) than blacks (30%) or Hispanics (39%) have a pet. There is also an income skew to pet ownership: nearly seven-in-ten (69%) adults with an annual family income of $100,000 or more have a pet, compared with fewer than half (45%) of adults with an income below $30,000. Also, rural residents (65%) are more likely than suburbanites (57%) or city folks (51%) to have a pet — though they’re a bit less likely to consider their dogs or cats a member of the family. Read More