National Pet Day 2016: 17 Quotes That Will Make You Want To Hug Your Furry Baby

Monday is National Pet Day, and that means you have an official excuse to be as excited about your pet on social media as you want and nobody can call you obnoxious. From dogs and cats to more offbeat animals like hamsters and iguanas, there are a wide variety of nonhuman companions that people in the United States and around the world call their best friends.

There are a few other days throughout the year when you can also celebrate your pet, but today is the official National Pet Day. So make sure to leave yourself some time to give your pup or kitten a little extra love today.

In honor of the special day, here are some great quotes that will make you love your pet even more, collected from BrainyQuote and Goodreads.

1. “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself.” — Josh Billings

2. “A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance and to turn around three times before lying down.” — Robert Benchley

3. “Dogs are wise. They crawl away into a quiet corner and lick their wounds and do not rejoin the world until they are whole once more.” — Agatha Christie

4. “No animal has more liberty than the cat … The cat is the best anarchist.” — Ernest Hemingway

5. “Animals are my friends … and I don’t eat my friends.” — George Bernard Shaw

6. “Our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.” — Colette

7. “The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too.” — Samuel Butler

8. “Pets are humanizing. They remind us we have an obligation and a responsibility to preserve and nurture and care for all life.” — James Cromwell

9. “Animals are such agreeable friends — they ask no questions; they pass no criticisms.” — George Eliot

10. “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” — Winston Churchill

11.“Perhaps the greatest gift an animal has to offer is a permanent reminder of who we really are.” — Nick Trout

12. “Dogs never bite me. Just humans.” — Marilyn Monroe

13. “Sometimes losing a pet is more painful than losing a human because in the case of the pet, you were not pretending to love it.” — Amy Sedaris

14. “When an 85-pound mammal licks your tears away, then tries to sit on your lap, it’s hard to feel sad.” — Kristin Higgins

15. “Dogs are better than human beings because they know but do not tell.” — Emily Dickinson

16. “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” — James Herriot

17. “Happiness is a warm puppy.” — Charles Schulz