The Pet Industry Remains Recession-Proof

The global economy may be crap, but American pet owners are still spending on their animals like crazy, according to the Christian Science Monitor. In fact, the pet industry has grown to $46 billion this year from $17 billion in 1994, says the American Pet Products Association. Some evidence of this phenomenon? Despite the pet food recall two years ago, the pet food industry is booming; Pet Airways recently launched; PetSmart and Petco are hiring and opening new stores; Martha Stewart has opened a pet franchise; and Honda introduced a dog-friendly concept car this year.

Credit: Ann Hermes/Christian Science Monitor

The article credits a combination of “emotion and anthropomorphism” for what’s driving pet sectors—including the market for doggie drugs, “healthier” specialty foods, doggie day care programs, organic shampoos, and more. Just this year alone, I’ve bought Riley her own lifejacket, a monogrammed tote bag, two new beds, a DNA test, calming pheromones, and countless other things. Clearly, I’m as guilty as the next dog owner, if not far more so.

The article also references several “social readjustments” that have come about due to our bond with our pets. “Legislatures are now struggling to rework legal codes that consider animals property—a status that creates all sorts of difficulties in divorce cases, for instance, where the resolution to a disputed pet is to sell the animal and split the proceeds. Some courts have started to issue protection orders that cover pets; a number of domestic violence shelters allow battered women to bring their dogs.

“It was hurricane Katrina, as much as anything, that drove home the importance of social institutions evolving with the animal-human bond, says Stephen Zawistowski, of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. During the New Orleans evacuation, he notes, people of all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds refused to leave if it meant abandoning pets. Later the government and organizations such as the Red Cross changed their pet policies. ‘The emotions might have been here all along,’ he says. ‘But this showed the depth to which the sentiments have become part of our culture.’”

I highly recommend reading this article if you have a few minutes! You can find it here.