As it turns out, 2018 is the Chinese Year of the Dog! But to many people at the Eddie Croman Foundation and Frankie’s Friends, that’s basically every year!

Even though we love cats too, dogs are galloping to the forefront of the Internet. But, why? News sources like the BBC and even journalists have asked the question why animal videos like dogs are so popular online, but they also have the research to support their conclusion.

For now, our dog fixation is helped by the fact we can log-on to YouTube at any time and find something like “Best Dog Videos of the Year 2017,” which shows a guy cradling his pup — a very ornery little pet — while trying to valiantly explain the virtues of petting such such a ferocious animal.

Petting is, he says, “one of the most relaxing things you can possibly do.” In the video, his dog nips at his fingers, but he doesn’t mind! The dog owners goes on to say, “It releases a hormone called Oxytocin, which reduces stress.”

But the dog just keeps on snarling, exposing his sharp molars —  and nipping away at his owner’s fingers!

“Plus the dogs like it so much,” he says, “and it’s a nice bonding experience.” From your lips to dogs’ ears, big guy. While, we certainly get a good LOL at these videos, there are a ton of cute ones, too!

From there the viewer goes on a wild ride, watching a meowing dog, a dog trying to escape…or even an exercising dog! There is bandwidth devoted to a dog leaning out the back window of an SUV and grabbing his owner’s drive-through order, another of a canine stealing his owner’s hula hoop and still another of a pup cheering up a baby! And there are clips showing a dog smiling on cue from its owner, riding on a bike with its owner or riding like a baby in a stroller.

The list goes on and on!

Dog lovers can rejoice because its never difficult to find other compilations featuring such things as:

Treadmill Twins: two canines running side by side, as if in their own personal health club (at :19);

Kayak Capers: which features one of our furry friends overturning such a craft, dunking his owner in the process (at 1:27);

The Great Escape: A dog refuses to be caged in (at 18:21);

Snack Trap: Doggy wants a cracker, with amusing results (at 8:45);

Breaking and Entering: A persistent pup will simply not be denied entry (at 9:58).

Again, the popularity of these posts should come as no surprise to dog lovers everywhere! As the BBC wrote in January 2017, one of the best moments in pet videos was Jan. 3, 2016, when the term “cute dogs” overtook “funny cats” in worldwide online searches! That’s something we can get behind!

The author further states that the top three posts on the /r/aww subreddit, which lists all manner of furry creatures, were at that point of dogs, and that a dog named Boo was the most popular animal on Facebook. While Lee conceded that a cat was atop the Instagram heap, he was quick to add that dogs were nipping at its heels.

But Lee also says that there is an increasing popularity of a Twitter page entitled WeRateDogs. It is run by a guy named Matt Nelson, who assigns a 1-10 rating to pups according to photos submitted to him by their owners — though sometimes he fudges and gives, like, a 12. We don’t blame him!

Phillips’ study is recent, undertaken in January 2018, and if anything, it’s a long and joyous list of love. He also finds videos on the /r/aww subreddit, and mentions that over half of the top 100 pet-related posts in 2017 were about dogs, while just 12 percent were cat-focused, an all-time low since Reddit was introduced in 2008.

On Instagram, Phillips says that 22 of the 50 most popular pet-related accounts focus on dogs, compared to 18 for cats. On YouTube, searches for dog videos outreached those for cats in 2014, and they have been doing strong ever since.

It’s clear that 2018 is not the only Year of the Dog. It is actually one of many years to celebrate dogs for how much we love and cherish them.