Can I call animals "who" as I refer to people?
Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
Yes, it is okay to use "who" when referring to animals, especially in the case where you are talking directly to an animal, even though they won't be able to respond back. Since animals are living things that have their own personalities, it is fine to use the pronoun "who" when talking to them. However, it is less common to use "who" for small animals or for things that do not have human characteristics. Ex: Who are you, little kitten? Ex: Who is this dog?