Almost half of pet owners have CANCELLED holiday to stay with animals

Almost half of all pet owners have cancelled a holiday to stay with their animals, new figures have shown.

Four out of ten have declined the chance to take a trip away, purely due to the fear of leaving their pets at home, according to a study by Virgin Media O2 (VMO2).

Meanwhile, a whopping 63 per cent of pet owners confessed they do not like to leave furry friends behind to make a foreign getaway, the merged mobile and broadband company showed.

For Brits who do choose to take some time out, pets are what they miss most while away - more than even family, as per the research commissioned from Censuswide.

And the yearning for their furry friends from afar sees nearly half (48 per cent) of pet owners video call their pets while on holiday, with a fifth checking an animal cam.