Companion animals are popular all over the world, and the number of households with pets is growing and continues to grow worldwide because of the special relationship between humans and animals. People learn about themselves and the world around them precisely through caring for animals. The subject of this sociological research is to investigate students' perceptions of pets, which is the main goal of this research. The specific goals of this research are: to investigate the differences in the perception of different types of pets, to investigate the differences in the perception of students who are pet owners and those who are not, to investigate the meanings of pets and to investigate whether pets contribute to the establishment of friendships and social contacts. The research was conducted during the months of May and June 2023, using an online survey method on a sample of 200 male and female students of the University of Split. The research results show that there are differences in the perception of pets, with some being more preferred and others less desirable. At the same time, students who own pets perceive pets more as an obligation than students who do not have pets. The results of the research showed that the emotional meaning of pets is the most represented. Furthermore, this research confirmed that pets contribute to the social interactions of their owners, that is, pet owners make new acquaintances more easily than non-owners.