It was a brief moment in the 10 hours of general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But a few words about kids and dogs drew all eyes in the room from the TV to Alison Faulkner.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was giving an example of a young couple who chose a dog over having kids.

"Dogs are less trouble, they declared. Dogs don't talk back and we never have to ground them," Oaks said of the couple's reasoning. He went on to say that many LDS couples are among that "unselfish group who are willing to surrender their personal priorities and serve the Lord by bearing and rearing the children our Heavenly Father sends to their care."

But there are also plenty choosing the dog. The American Pet Products Association estimates that Americans in 2009 will spend $45 billion on their pets -- including health care, food and doggie clothes -- up from $17 billion 15 years ago.

Faulkner, who's been married a year with no kids, takes possession of "Pony" on Friday. To be fair, the miniature Australian shepherd is more a baby warm-up than a baby replacement, she says.

Pets or family?

The humanification of pets has been a long time coming, says Michael Schaffer, author of "One Nation Under Dog." In the Victorian era, pets were known as "loyal companion." By the 1950s, they had become "man's best friend." Today they're "mommy's little girl."

Names have also gone from Spot and Spike to Jack and Chloe, "which are actually the same names in my daughter's pre-school," Schaffer said.

The movement likely comes from modern society's increased divorce rates and families moving apart for work, he said. An APPA survey shows that the percentage of households with a pet has increased from 56 in 1988 to 63 in 2007. As people move away from traditional social support systems, Schaffer said, they seek different sources of comfort, including, as he calls them, "fur babies."

That mindset was evident in Faulkner's blog. After she announced she was getting a dog, comments ranged from "Yay! Congratulations. You will be a great puppy mom." to "Oh Pony is adorable!!! You are going to be the best little mom in town, how lucky could a dog be."

First step or only step?

Facebook and several blogging sites were abuzz Monday with discussion on Oaks's comments. Faulkner, a Brigham Young University grad who lives in Salt Lake City, said she didn't rush into marriage and doesn't want to rush a child into the world. She views Pony as a sort of practice run rather than a baby replacement.

"Maybe people should be required to have a dog before they have children," she said.

Schaffer agrees.

He and his wife owned a dog before their first child came. He said it gave them a chance to explore their nurturing habits and how they would each react in situations involving something with needs.

"Things do tend to follow that same pattern," he said. "It was more sort of like we had a practice run."

But while Faulkner and Schaffer may not see dogs as replacements for babies, a growing number of people across the Atlantic do.

According to a December study by Petplan, which insures pets, a majority of British couples were planning to put off children during the economic downturn. But of those, a quarter were planning to get a pet.

That sort of thinking could be what's driving the population growth of pets to outstrip human population growth in recent years, Schaffer said. Even in Utah, the birthrate has dropped slightly every year for the past decade, according to the Utah Department of Health.

Adoption

Then again, maybe not everyone should be getting a dog, says Faulkner. During her time at BYU, she said Chihuahuas started cropping up everywhere as Paris Hilton hit the scene. But as owners quickly tired of the animals, they'd get passed on until they landed in a shelter or were sold off.

It's the economic downturn that's sending the most animals to the North Utah Valley Animal Shelter now, says director Tug Gettling. That's not necessarily a bad thing, he added, because people are more important than animals and should be getting the scant resources.

But at the same time, the shelter had the best adoption month in its three-year history in March. Gettling doesn't see a definitive reason, but speculates that people use pets to keep "them emotionally above water."

Not a replacement baby

At the end of the day, Faulkner agrees with Oaks, she just wants to be prepared for the Big Day.

"It's everybody's responsibility to make sure their heart is aligned with the Lord," she said.

And though she's excited for her new dog to arrive at the end of the week, the reason for the acquisition may not have anything to do with babies.

"I also think I want a pet because I like dogs."