An annual observance on the second Saturday in May honoring women who consider their dogs family and celebrating the bond between dog moms and their canine companions.
Last updated March 19, 2026 · by the
Holiday Calendar Team
Dig, a dating app for dog lovers co-founded by sisters Leigh and Casey Isaacson, created National Dog Mom's Day in 2018. The company submitted a petition and secured recognition from the National Day Calendar Registrar, with the proclamation referenced in a June 2018 SEC filing from Dig Dates, Inc.
According to survey data, 85% of dog-owning households consider their dogs to be family members, not pets. National Dog Mom's Day gives that statistic a name and a date, carving out a space on the calendar specifically for the women who schedule the vet appointments, research the food labels, and rearrange their lives around a creature that cannot say thank you but somehow makes all of it feel worth it.
The holiday lands on the second Saturday in May, the day before Mother's Day, a deliberate placement that frames dog motherhood as its own distinct form of caregiving. It emerged from a dating app built entirely around the premise that your relationship with your dog is a non-negotiable part of your identity.
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The concept of the "dog mom" did not emerge from thin air. It grew out of decades of shifting demographics and evolving attitudes toward pets in American households. As marriage and parenthood rates declined among Millennials and Gen Z, pet ownership filled a different kind of caregiving role. By 2017, the term "dog mom" was already common enough in popular culture that media outlets were analyzing it as a lifestyle identity, not just an affectionate nickname.
The scientific case for treating dogs like family had been building since a landmark 2015 study in Science. Researcher Takefumi Kikusui and his team demonstrated that when dogs and their owners gaze at each other, both experience a spike in oxytocin, the neurochemical responsible for bonding between mothers and infants. The study found that this feedback loop did not occur between humans and hand-raised wolves, suggesting it is a product of domestication itself.
That cultural and scientific backdrop set the stage for Leigh and Casey Isaacson, two sisters who launched Dig, a dating app designed exclusively for dog lovers. The app's origin story traces to Casey's experience dating someone who turned out not to be a "dog person," a dealbreaker she realized too late. Dig launched in the New York Metro area just before Valentine's Day 2018, with features like dog-friendly date location suggestions and partnerships with rescue organizations.
Shortly after Dig's launch, the Isaacsons turned their attention to the calendar. They submitted a petition to the National Day Calendar, arguing that dog moms deserved their own observance, distinct from Mother's Day. The Registrar at National Day Calendar officially recognized National Dog Mom's Day on the second Saturday in May, beginning in 2018. A June 2018 SEC filing from Dig Dates, Inc. references the "NEW DAY PROCLAMATION" as part of the company's business strategy.
The holiday's placement, one day before Mother's Day, was intentional. It acknowledged a growing population of women who consider their dogs their primary dependents and who approach that responsibility with the same seriousness as parenthood.
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WHY THIS DAY MATTERS
Approximately 68 million U.S. households owned a dog in 2024, representing 51% of all American homes. Gen Z is accelerating this trend, with Gen Z pet-owning households growing by 43.5% from 2023 to 2024.
A 2016 study found that 90.8% of self-identified dog moms were female, and 79.3% did not have children in the household. The observance acknowledges a caregiving identity tied to delayed or opted-out parenthood, rising living costs, and changing family structures.
The American Pet Products Association reported that U.S. pet industry spending reached $152 billion in 2024, with dog owners accounting for the largest share. Women drive purchasing decisions in the majority of pet-owning households, from premium food to veterinary care.
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