Atlantans love their pets

We love our pets in Atlanta — and the data proves it.

Driving the news: Data from the U.S. Census shows that among major metro areas, Atlanta has the sixth-highest percentage of households with dogs.

• Nearly 750,000 households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro reported having at least one dog in their home. That's nearly a third of total households.

By the numbers: Of the households with pups, the majority have only one, nearly 200,000 have two and about 55,000 have three.

But what about cats? Only 16% of households in the region have cats, according to the data, which puts us ninth nationally.

The intrigue: Nearly 35,000 metro Atlanta households have small mammals as pets, nearly 47,000 have fish and about 33,000 have reptiles.

Get involved: Don't have a pet yet or looking to add more loving animals to your house? The Atlanta Humane Society has many who need homes and foster parents. They also need volunteers.