It is commonly reported that owning pets is good for our physical health and wellbeing, for example positive effects on social interactions, blood pressure and physical activity. However, there is a lack of high quality empirical studies examining the effects of interacting with animals, in particular in relation to cognitive and educational outcomes. Furthermore, research into the effects of animal presence in these domains has largely been in the context of experimental investigation and short-term intervention therapy/activities, but the impact of actual pet ownership requires specific investigation. Little is known about the effect of pet ownership on emotional, behavioural, cognitive and educational development specifically in children, the population of greatest hypothesized importance. We propose to analyse a unique dataset of fourteen thousand children, to address the lack of high quality empirical studies examining the effects of interactions with animals on children, particularly in relation to cognitive, emotional, behavioural and educational outcomes such as: Self esteem (8yrs); ‘Key stage’ (attainment) results (ages 7, 11yrs) for children attending state schools; Separation Anxiety, Anxiety, depression (ages 7 and 10yrs); Attention, memory and cognition (ages 8, 10, 11yrs); and Language development (0-3yrs). Pet ownership, including number of each pet type was reported approximately every 18 months by the primary carer of the child prospectively from gestation until age 10. In conclusion, the ALSPAC dataset is a large and rich source of data from which to test for robust associations between pet ownership and cognitive, behavioural and educational outcomes. The proposed work has important health implications and high potential impact for children’s cognition and attainment, through translation into appropriate and sensitive interventions concerning pet ownership.