We want Pet-ernity leave! Half of dog owners demand the same rights as parents when getting time off work to care for their animals

More than half of Britain's dog owners feel they should be entitled to same rights to take time off as parents have, a new study reveals.

One in 10 of every so-called dog parents wants to receive 'pet-ernity leave', a benefit similar to maternity or paternity leave that would provide designated leave to care for their pooch, according to a study by Burns Pet Nutrition.

UK law states workers can take a 'reasonable amount of time off to deal with an emergency', such as caring for an ill child or mourning a death in the family. 

But dog owners are now demanding those same rights to look after their four-legged friends, which 67 per cent claim to view as their 'children'.

Pet leave has been on the rise over the last few years with companies around the globe and across various sectors, from tech firms to pet food bands and even beloved Glasgow-based craft beer maker BrewDog, having adopted the policy.

More than half of Britain's dog owners feel they should be entitled to same rights to take time off as parents have, a study by Burns Pet Nutrition has revealed

The pet food maker surveyed more than 2,000 pet owners on what type of 'parental rights' they believe they should have.

Fifty-six per cent said they feel they shouldn't have to dip into their holiday balance to take their dog to the vet, while 40 per cent of participants indicated wanting time off to care for their sick pup at home.

More than half are calling for compassionate leave that would allow them 'adequate time to grieve' when their dog passes.

But the survey's most shocking find is that 15 per cent of owners, or one in every 10, feel they should be able to take pet-ernity leave when their dog welcomes a litter of puppies.

Twelve per cent of owners also believe they should be permitted to arrive late or leave work early to drop-off or collect their beloved pooch from doggy day care.

But while dog owners appear to be in favour of pet-ternity programmes, the general workforce may not be onboard with employers offering new dog or pet owners additional time off.

UK-based recruitment firm Reed polled over 2,600 people on LinkedIn in November last year and found that 58 per cent were opposed to pet leave. Twelve per cent said employers should 'maybe' offer pet-ernity leave as a benefit.

UK law states workers can take a 'reasonable amount of time off to deal with an emergency', such as caring for an ill child or mourning a death in the family. But dog owners are now demanding those same rights to look after their four-legged friends

Millennials and Gen-Z dog owners appear to be the most passionate about pet parental rights, according to Burns Pet Nutrition's study, likely because they consider their dogs to be their children. 

Eighty-two per cent of owners aged 18 to 24 said they view their pets as their children, with 21 per cent of them being exclusively pet-parents. 

Twenty per cent of this age demographic believe they should receive pet-ernity leave.

Similarly, 14 per cent of owners between the ages of 25 and 34, and 17 per cent aged 35 to 44, believe they should be entitled to the benefit.

These beliefs stem from the fact that most owners feel their pets are family members.

'Dogs bring so much happiness and joy to a household, they really are part of the family,' Burns Pet Nutrition Manager Laura Crotch Harvey told MailOnline.

'So, when a dog is sick it can an incredibly worrying time for owners, and when the worst happens and that friendly face is no more, it can truly be devastating.

'That's why we back calls from dog owners hoping for help when it comes to getting time off work.'

The survey also found that 67 per cent of pet owners view their dogs as their 'children'

Designated pet leave has been on the rise since around 2017, when several companies started announcing policies aimed to help pet parents.

Scottish beer maker BrewDog was one of the first in the industry to offer staff members with new dogs a week of 'Puppy Parental Leave'.

The perk was made available to all crewmembers across the globe, with bosses at the time citing how 'dogs have been central to BrewDog's way of life' since its inception in 2007.

Several American companies made headlines in 2018 when the New York Times revealed that firms with good perks were offering employees paid 'fur-ternity leave' - despite the US still being the only industrialized nation without government-mandated paid maternity leave.