Alot of old paintings seem to have small dogs or cats somewhere in the background. Were these animals pets or was there quite a large number of strays?

by snoobs89

Or was it just fashionable to include them in the art work?

pipkin42

Can you provide specific examples that interest you? I ask not to be difficult, but because there is significant variation in the cultural and intellectual origins of various painting styles, and individual painters would have made decisions about what to include based on their own circumstances, training, etc.