Do you love your dog or cat so much that you can’t resist buying her treats and toys every time you stop at the pet store for food? You’re not alone!
According to numbers released by the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent over $60 billion dollars on their pets last year.
This surprises me not at all. I got a puppy last fall, and I’ve spent about a zillion dollars on different things for her to chew. She really likes bully sticks, which are dehydrated bull penises. It cracks me up every time I give one to her and say, “Here. Go eat a dick.”
Anyway.
The $60 billion figure includes spending on food, supplies, over-the-counter medications, veterinary care, live animal purchases, and other services. The services category, which is stuff like pet sitting, pet walking, and pet training, saw 11.8% growth to $5 billion. Spending on supplies like collars, leashes, beds, those silly little outfits for animals, as well as over the counter pet meds hit $14 billion.
My mother in law sent a reindeer costume for our puppy at Christmas. I tried putting it on her and she hated it. HATED. Spun in circles trying to get it off. I eventually helped her but only after I laughed myself stupid and took video.
The CEO of the APPA credits the “humanization of pets” are driving a lot of the growth, particularly in premium pet products. Apparently, people get really concerned with the content of their pet’s food. I definitely want my puppy to eat quality food, but I’ve also watched her eat mud so I suspect the top-of-the-line products won’t impress her much. Despite mud-eating, growth in the premium segment is expected to continue in 2016.
As they say, pets are family. And we spend on them like family.
