30 Beautiful Vintage Photos That Prove Pets Were Always Family

Nowadays, many people can’t imagine their home without their beloved dog or cat. Or their bearded dragon. Or their dear tarantula. Or their cherished python. Well, you get the idea – people love their pets and they come in all shapes and sizes.

And that seems to have long been the case. Dogs are believed to have been domesticated roughly 30,000 years ago and while it might have taken a bearded dragon, for instance, a bit more time to become accustomed to a home environment, more exotic animals, too, have long been people’s companions.

Just take a look at today’s list and see for yourself! There are pictures of people walking raccoons alongside dogs on the streets back in the ‘70s, women with their leopards circa 1932, and even an image of a man with his bear cub taken more than a hundred years ago. Scroll down to find all of these and many more vintage pictures, as shared by the ‘OldSchoolCool’ subreddit, on the list below and don’t forget to upvote your favorites!

Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interviews with two animal behavior experts, Zazie Todd and Alice Chau-Ginguene, who were kind enough to answer a few of our questions about people’s relationships with pets.