In several studies over the past decade, behavioral scientists have found that some people look so much like their pets that outside observers can match them based on pictures alone.
The accompanying image, for instance, comes from a 2005 study in which test participants identified owner-pet pairs at a success rate far greater than what you'd get with random guessing.
So, if this is true, the question becomes why?
The similarities can’t be genetic, but some researchers suggest it’s possible that people and pets somehow grow to look like one another over time.
For example fit people tend to have fit pets and couch potatoes develop pudgy pets, encouraging this notion of human-pet resemblance.
A more reasonable explanation, science aside, is that humans simply choose pets that already resemble them. For example, the weight lifter may choose a bulldog or pit bull, while the hairdresser may choose a poodle.
Star Herald staff members are putting the pet-human resemblance theory to test next week at the Rock County Fair.
We’ve all photographed our pets and have agreed to have our mug shots distributed with the pet photos in a silly contest to match the Star Herald pets with their appropriate human companions.
Those with the best answers will be awarded tickets to Friday night’s grandstand performance by Arch Allies, the 1980s tribute band that was wildly popular at last year’s Rock County Fair.
See you at the fair!