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Somewhere out there, a man with a shaggy gray beard is walking a shaggy gray terrier, and neither of them has noticed. Everyone else has. Pets looking suspiciously like their owners has been a reliable joke for decades, and it turns out scientists have been checking whether the joke is true.

At least for dogs, the answer is yes, and it's a little embarrassing. In 2025, researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology reviewed 15 studies and found that people tend to choose dogs that look like them, right down to body weight and the length of their hair or ears. Give it a few years, and personalities start to line up too. Lead researcher Yana Bender compares it to the way we choose a partner, which is either romantic or slightly alarming, depending on your dog. Cats, true to form, have been harder to pin down. Still, a UK study of more than 3,000 cat owners found that more neurotic owners were more likely to have anxious cats, while conscientious owners tended to have calmer, friendlier ones. Whether the cats would admit to any of this is another matter.

The 50 pairs below include dogs, cats, and a few other animals that clearly refused to be left out of the research. Some share a haircut, some share a facial expression, and some share an energy no study has a name for yet. Scroll through and tell us which pair made you look twice.

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#1

A man and his bulldog lying on the floor making a silly face, depicting pets that look like their owners.

"To me, they are twins."

haytonnparper Report

19points
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    #2

    A man with curly hair holding his fluffy black poodle, showing how pets look like their owners with similar hair.

    "My hubby and pup Sage years back. They really favored each other here."

    nillyfoshilly Report

    19points
    POST
    #3

    A happy bald man with a grey beard holding his grey poodle dog that looks like its owner

    "Me and my forever companion, Marcus Garvey. He’s a rescue from Mexico, and our birthdays are on the same day."

    allen_henderson_photog Report

    15points
    POST
    #4

    A man in a turquoise hoodie and his pomeranian look alike, showing pets that look like their owners

    "Just a couple blonde-haired, blue-eyed mammals out here doing our thing!"

    rogueblueeyes Report

    14points
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    doordoor avatar
    Door Door
    Door Door
    Community Member
    1 hour ago

    Ewok?

    0
    0points
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    #5

    Woman and her white Persian cat showing wide green eyes, illustrating pets that look like their owners.

    "Green-eyed girlies."

    amyykeller Report

    14points
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    #6

    Man smiling next to his Corgi dog with a similar facial expression, showing pets who look like their owners.

    "It’s in the neck."

    masterofpuppies Report

    14points
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    #7

    A smiling woman with curly hair and glasses next to a fluffy dog that looks like its owner.

    "This is my stepsons dog and I feel we look a lot alike."

    leahmcgeah Report

    13points
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    #8

    A man lying on the floor next to his look-alike pet dog

    "No DNA test needed.. she's looks like me... Def mine."

    djericho Report

    13points
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    #9

    A woman and her funny dog that looks like its owner yawning together in a car

    "She’s the dog in the copy cat."

    caitlinistall Report

    12points
    POST
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    #10

    A woman and her fluffy dog showing matching wide-toothed smiles, showing pets look like owners

    "Same smile."

    mshellsmith Report

    12points
    POST
    #11

    A woman with curly blonde hair and her fluffy dog looking up together, illustrating pets that look like their owners.

    "Back before my hair decided to stop being curly."

    sarahmg584 Report

    11points
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    #12

    A serious person and their white pit bull riding in a car, highlighting how pets look like their owners.

    "Love this beast."

    lydgabean62 Report

    11points
    POST
    doordoor avatar
    Door Door
    Door Door
    Community Member
    1 hour ago

    Don't crop their ears. Don't dock their tails either.

    2
    2points
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    #13

    A woman in a grey hoodie and a bulldog making the same frowning face, showcasing pets that look like their owners.

    kellyu Report

    10points
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    #14

    A happy man and his cat with matching blissful expressions, showing pets that look like their owners.

    "This is my favorite photo of my boy Archi and me. That was taken 5 years ago, a year after I adopted him."

    doctordoomboscq Report

    10points
    POST
    #15

    A couple camping with their two golden retrievers that look like their owners

    "We’re a whole family of gingers."

    marissamariee97 Report

    10points
    POST

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    #16

    A wide-eyed blonde woman and her black and white cat, showing how pets look like owners

    "My infant child and me."

    thekllee Report

    10points
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    #17

    A man with glasses and a beard posing with a brown and white cow that looks like its owner.

    "Practically brothers."

    robjoo1 Report

    9points
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    #18

    A woman and her dark French bulldog making the same funny face, showcasing pets that look like their owners

    still_the_mama75 Report

    9points
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    #19

    A young man making a funny face with his tongue out next to his fluffy cat showing pets look like their owners.

    "We make the same faces."

    g_benjamin1962 Report

    8points
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    #20

    A man and his brown dog sleeping in the same pose, demonstrating how pets looked like their owners

    0lilith.rising0 Report

    8points
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    #21

    A bearded man in a blue shirt with his fluffy brown dog that looks like its owner

    "Me and my bud, Artur."

    marcjordana Report

    8points
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    #22

    Tattooed man sleeping side-by-side with his tiny pet dog

    "My husband and his soul pup, our dearly departed Pinky Tuscadero, were total twins."

    andi2all Report

    7points
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    #23

    A smiling woman lying next to her fluffy, messy-haired small dog showing pets look like their owners.

    "Our morning face."

    jazzyraynyc Report

    5points
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    #24

    A person with dark curly hair posing next to a fluffy black cat, showing pets that look like their owners.

    "Me and my stinky."

    itbejennnnnna Report

    4points
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    #25

    A sleeping woman and her bulldog show how pets looked so much like their owners, cuddling together on a couch

    "Me and my Beyoncé."

    rhymeswitdope15 Report

    4points
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    #26

    Woman and her pet cat looking upward with matching wide green eyes, showing how pets look like their owners.

    "Me and my biological daughter."

    sassofthebluegrass Report

    4points
    POST
    #27

    Woman in a beanie with a fluffy cat pet sitting on her head

    ursa.and.orion Report

    3points
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    #28

    A happy woman smiling widely next to her squinting brown dog, showing pets look like their owners.

    newjourneysforme Report

    3points
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    #29

    A woman with striking blue eyes posing next to her blue-eyed cat, showing how pets look like their owners.

    _sjbrown_ Report

    2points
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    #30

    Smiling woman hugging her happy yawning pet dog

    "Miso, my dog, twinning with how I feel all the time in 2026."

    lbbluebird Report

    2points
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    #31

    Elegant woman in black suit matching with her grey greyhound pet

    "Long legs girls."

    alessiapiva5 Report

    2points
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    #32

    A red-haired woman poses next to her long-haired Afghan hound, showing how pets looked so much like their owners

    "Different hair color but we kind of look alike."

    jtafghans Report

    2points
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    #33

    A woman with curly blonde hair and her matching poodle show how pets looked so much like their owners in a park

    "I love this phenomenon too! Me and Lennox!"

    sheanah Report

    2points
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    #34

    A smiling man in sunglasses and his happy dog on a sunny day, showcasing pets that look like their owners.

    "Like two peas in a pod."

    argos_to_the_rescue Report

    2points
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    #35

    A woman and her curly-haired dog pose together, demonstrating how pets looked so much like their owners

    "Me and my twin."

    jaelamador Report

    2points
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    #36

    A woman with a dark mullet and her matching pet dog looking in the same direction

    "Matching hair colours, matching short snout."

    furiousdee Report

    2points
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    #37

    A man and his black greyhound making similar serious expressions, proving pets look like owners

    "Locked out."

    tony_barton_ Report

    2points
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    #38

    Woman with blue eyes hugging her puppy with matching blue eyes, demonstrating how pets look like their owners.

    iamironred Report

    2points
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    #39

    A woman and her dog wearing matching flight attendant uniforms showing how pets look like their owners.

    "I ain’t coming, if he ain’t coming."

    shetlandtoni Report

    1point
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    #40

    Woman with grey hair matching her white fluffy pet dog

    lisa_and_pearl Report

    1point
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    #41

    A man with a ginger beard and his orange cat show how pets looked so much like their owners with similar expressions

    keeganpatches Report

    1point
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    #42

    A smiling woman holding a cute puppy with a matching expression, showcasing pets that look like their owners.

    _violetskiez Report

    1point
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    #43

    A woman and her brindle dog posing closely together, demonstrating how pets looked like their owners

    "Just the eyeroll…."

    lsgunnet Report

    1point
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    #44

    A young woman holding a long-haired chihuahua, highlighting how pets looked like their owners

    "My girl Paisley."

    alimarieriva Report

    1point
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    #45

    A man with a red beard next to his dog that looked like its owner with a similar black and tan pattern

    "My husband and our baby have the same black hair and red beard ."

    lexie_elyse Report

    1point
    POST
    #46

    A smiling woman with glasses next to her happy black pet dog

    da.big.furiendly.giants Report

    1point
    POST
    #47

    A woman with light brown hair holding her matching beagle dog, showing pets that look like their owners

    jenchap22 Report

    1point
    POST
    #48

    A smiling blonde woman holding her Yorkie dog, illustrating pets look like owners

    "We don’t look alike, but Natasha Thickums is my world."

    kinetic_witchery Report

    1point
    POST
    #49

    A teenage girl with light eyes and a calico cat, showing how much pets looked like their owners

    "I feel like we look just alike."

    s0phi3._.15 Report

    0points
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    #50

    A young woman and her small chihuahua sticking their tongues out, a fun example of pets look like owners

    honidews Report

    0points
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