(
Southern Methodist University) - In her new book, Just Like Family: How Companion Animals Joined the Household SMU sociologist Andrea Laurent-Simpson asserts what most pet-owners already know - the American family structure is changing to include nonhuman species, and the implications are huge.Americans choose homes with yards for their pets, spend billions of dollars on pet products and squabble over custody in divorce hearings. We treat pets like family because they are family.
