Andrei Markovits, professor of political science, sociology and Germanic languages and literature, recently penned an article for the Huffington Post titled, "The Differing Concept of "Dog" in Red and Blue America."

In his research with Katherine N. Crosby, they found that "the meaning of a dog's being differs greatly in the culture of predominatly blue and read areas." In their findings, they found that "on the whole dog "owners" in southern states and rural areas still tended to treat dogs as animals, rather than as family members." He also notes that canines are treated more like family members and less like work animals in blue areas.

"Even the role of dogs in society has become contested ground in America's culture clash pitting 'blue' against 'red' states," said Markovits. 

To read more, please visit the Huffington Post's website.