In a world where raising kids is a six-figure undertaking, spoiling a pet is less expensive. Millennials love their dogs — so much that they're willing to spend more than $400 on clothes for them.

Using a panel of 2,000 pet owners, results found that 34 percent of parents prefer their furry friends to their own flesh and blood.

And Pope Francis called people opting for pets instead of kids a phenomenon of cultural degradation. He said: “This is because the emotional relationship with animals is easier, more programmable.

Katherine Heigl is opening up to PEOPLE about how her three kids — daughters Naleigh, 14, Adalaide, 10, and son Joshua, 6, who she shares with husband Josh Kelley — take to having so many pets ...