Poll finds some would pick pet over paramour

NEW YORK -- Your sweetheart or your pet: Which would you dump if one had to go?

Most pet owners said they would hold on to their spouse or significant other (84 percent), but a sizable 14 percent picked their pet, according to an AP-Petside.com poll.

Put Sally Roland, 53, of Omaha, Neb., down in the dog-first column. "I'm divorced, so that might explain it," she joked.

The unmarried, like Roland, are more apt to choose their pet over their mate -- 25 percent among unmarried pet owners versus 8 percent among the married.

Count Fidel Martinez, 30, of Akron, Ohio, as forever loyal to Killer. That's his mix-breed, 100-pound rescue dog.

"I would absolutely give up my girlfriend for him," Martinez said. "I know it sounds insane but I've had numerous relationships with women. My dog has never let me down."

For the record: Martinez and Killer have been together for seven years. Martinez and his girlfriend have been together for four. The two-legged pair have no immediate plans to cohabitate, he said, but she does like the dog a lot.

Women are far more likely than men to say the human-pet choice would be a tough one (40 percent among women compared with 26 percent among men). Both genders were equally likely to go with their spouse or significant other, according to the poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.

There was also no difference between dog and cat owners: 35 percent of each said the choice would be a hard one and more than eight in 10 would choose their spouse.

Urban dwellers (47 percent) are more likely to say they'd have a difficult time choosing than did suburbanites (35 percent) or rural residents (25 percent).