Many think of Valentine’s Day as a holiday made by Hallmark to rake in money. Others think of it as a romantic day to show loved ones how much they mean to you. Still, others think there’s no need for a day designated for love -- you should show your loved ones you love them everyday. Whatever your thoughts are on the matter, truth be told if you are in a relationship and you show up empty-handed on the evening of Feb. 14, you are in trouble.

This may in fact be why my radio station told me that almost half of unmarried couples break up each Valentine’s Day.

For those of them who didn’t break up, however, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the other statistics about our friend Cupid’s big day. I did some research using facts from Hallmark, the United States Census Bureau, Retail Leaders Association, United States Department of Agriculture and a few other, likely less legitimate, sources. Here’s what I found:

*180 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second-most popular greeting-card-giving occasion. (This total excludes packaged kids valentines for classroom exchanges.) (Source: Hallmark)

* Nearly 50 percent of all Valentine’s Day cards are purchased in the six days prior to the observance, making Valentine’s Day a procrastinator’s delight. (Source: Hallmark)

* $422 million are spent on flowers annually, not including roses. Another $43 million are spent on cut roses. (Source: nass.usda.gov)

* The estimated number of roses produced for Valentine's Day in 2007 is 214 million. (aboutflowers.com)

* 15 percent of women send themselves flowers on Valentine’s Day. (United States Census bureau)

* Only 3 percent of pet owners buy their pets a Valentine’s Day gift. (American Kennel Club)

* 34 percent of women say that if their dog was a man, they’d want him as their boyfriend. (American Kennel Club)

As for gifts, in 2007, here is what valentines throughout the country were getting:

65 percent of Americans received greeting cards.

38 percent received candy.

32 percent received flowers.

29 percent received gift cards.

17 percent received other gifts.

12 percent received perfume of cologne.

11 percent received jewelry.

(United States Census Bureau)

This made me curious, so I tested it out on our Dawgnet staff members. Out of the 15 members who responded, here’s what I found:

67 percent received candy,

67 percent received a card.

20 percent received a baked good.

20 percent received jewelry.

20 percent received flowers.

13 percent received nothing.

40 percent received something other (including a CD, teddy gram, gift card, book and even a surprise birthday/Valentine’s day party).