Best Friends

Overview

We love our pets.  Around 40 per cent of Australian households own a dog and 27 per cent own a cat, adding up to an estimated 5.1 million dogs and 3.8 million cats throughout the nation. Dogs and cats provide companionship and unconditional affection, and really are the “best friends” of many of their owners. A recent survey showed that 60 per cent of dog and cat owners refer to their pet as a member of the family and around half allow their pets to share their bed. Dogs and cats are often given human names and treated as coddled “fur babies”.

The most popular dog pure-breeds are Labrador Retriever, Border Collie, German Shepherd, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Chihuahua and Golden Retriever; however, in recent years, mixed-breed dogs, in particular poodle-crosses, have become increasingly common. Sought-after cat breeds include Domestic Shorthair, Bengal, Siberian, Persian, Abyssinian, Australian Mist, Burmese, Siamese, Russian Blue and Ragdoll. The stamp issue features six of our “best friends”.

Technical specifications