Lap of luxury: Owners spent more than $40 billion on pets in 2007
By MELISSA DUNSON
The Joplin Globe
The Joplin Globe
Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
Updated: Monday, March 10, 2008 11:18 AM CDT
Updated: Monday, March 10, 2008 11:18 AM CDT
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Mary Ann Guarino-Schlau, of Joplin, has two living rooms: one for her and one for her 14 dogs.
Guarino-Schlau’s furry “babies” have their own couch, love seat, chair, television set, radio and pillows. They are her life.
Each dog has its own collar, identification tag and clothing that fits its personality. Four baskets of dog toys are spread across her house, and Guarino-Schlau said she is willing to sacrifice a large part of her life for their happiness.
“They are most certainly my kids; we call them our babies,” Guarino-Schlau said. “They mean everything to us. We don’t go places because we have to take care of them, and we don’t mind. This is our luxury: to sit and watch them play instead of watching television.”
Guarino-Schlau is part of the growing population of pet owners who look at their animals as friends and family rather than property, and prove it with their checkbooks.
The American Pet Product Manufacturers Association estimated that in 2007, people spent more than $40 billion on their pets nationwide. Those costs include boarding, grooming, animal purchases, medical care and food.
And pet ownership is becoming more universal. The association’s survey found that 63 percent of U.S. households, or 71.1 million homes, have at least one pet. More people own dogs than cats — the second most popular pet — but cat owners tend to have more animals, so the total of pet cats in the U.S. outnumbers dogs 88 million to 75 million.
New businesses have sprung up to meet the demand, and existing businesses are falling in line to get a piece of the market.
Kendal Kantola, manager of the Bow Wow Boutique in Joplin, said her business grows every year. She has clients who bring their pets in for weekly grooming and others who schedule their pets’ monthly appointments to correspond with their days at the salon.
Weekly clients could spend more than $1,000 a year on just bathing one pet. She has puppy parents who celebrate their animals’ birthdays with parties and cake, feed their dogs macaroni and cheese, and buy them more Christmas presents than they buy for their human children.
The trend is strong enough to gain the attention of national retail chains. Wal-Mart is cashing in on the pet-pampering craze with an expanded stock of dog apparel including rhinestone-studded collars, sequined bows, and puppy T-shirts bearing phrases like “Dog-a-licious,” “Born Fabulous” and “Love at First Bark.”
Target recently released a series of designer pet products, marketing them as a way for everyday people to participate in the celebrity pet trend. The items include a pet bed from Shabby Chic and a pet carrier by designer Isaac Mizrahi.
Evans Collars in Mount Vernon has made a business off the specialty niche of pet apparel, and ships dog wedding dresses and tuxedos across the United States.
The commitment to pets doesn’t necessarily end at their death. Frank Stine, manager of Park Cemetery in Carthage, said some local residents are willing to spend more than $400 to bury their pets in the cemetery’s new pet section. In 2006, Park Cemetery set aside three acres of burial plots for pets.
“We’ve even had people get their animals disinterred out of the Humane Society’s cemetery and rebury them here,” Stine said. “Money is not an issue when it comes to pets.”
When Kara Hutchcraft’s miniature dachshund, Cassie, started losing the use of her back legs five years ago because of bulging discs in her back, the Joplin woman rushed the failing dog to a Kansas medical center for emergency surgery. It took her three years to pay off the surgery costs, but Hutchcraft said she’s never regretted it.
“I didn’t think twice about it,” she said. “It was my child. She was young, and I knew that she had a lot of good years left.”
Cassie’s back problems got Hutchcraft interested in joining the pet-pampering business. She started massaging the dog’s back to help relieve pain from the surgery, and she said that since she started doing it regularly two years ago, Cassie has been off all pain medications.
Hutchcraft recently graduated from massage school and is working at Touchcraft Therapeutic Massage in Joplin. She hopes to get into pet massage in the future.
So, why are people willing to go so far to ensure their pets’ happiness?
Pets do have some benefits when it comes to their owners’ health. Studies from a number of health institutes and universities have shown that owning a pet helps lower blood pressure, reduces stress, helps reduce heart disease, provides greater psychological stability, lowers health care costs and fights depression.
But the most likely reason that Americans spent $40 billion on their pets last year goes back to the inexplicable connection between people and their pets.
Hutchcraft’s little dachshund, Cassie, now has a host of furry companions. The latest addition came just last year, when Hutchcraft saw a Shiba Inu puppy at a local pet store and fell in love.
That dog cost her $800 and the trouble of potty training one more puppy. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Money was not a consideration in deciding whether or not to get her,” she said. “Some days, I feel like all I do is juggle dogs. We have more dog treats in the house than flour and sugar, but I absolutely love it.”
Guarino-Schlau’s furry “babies” have their own couch, love seat, chair, television set, radio and pillows. They are her life.
Each dog has its own collar, identification tag and clothing that fits its personality. Four baskets of dog toys are spread across her house, and Guarino-Schlau said she is willing to sacrifice a large part of her life for their happiness.
“They are most certainly my kids; we call them our babies,” Guarino-Schlau said. “They mean everything to us. We don’t go places because we have to take care of them, and we don’t mind. This is our luxury: to sit and watch them play instead of watching television.”
Guarino-Schlau is part of the growing population of pet owners who look at their animals as friends and family rather than property, and prove it with their checkbooks.
The American Pet Product Manufacturers Association estimated that in 2007, people spent more than $40 billion on their pets nationwide. Those costs include boarding, grooming, animal purchases, medical care and food.
And pet ownership is becoming more universal. The association’s survey found that 63 percent of U.S. households, or 71.1 million homes, have at least one pet. More people own dogs than cats — the second most popular pet — but cat owners tend to have more animals, so the total of pet cats in the U.S. outnumbers dogs 88 million to 75 million.
New businesses have sprung up to meet the demand, and existing businesses are falling in line to get a piece of the market.
Kendal Kantola, manager of the Bow Wow Boutique in Joplin, said her business grows every year. She has clients who bring their pets in for weekly grooming and others who schedule their pets’ monthly appointments to correspond with their days at the salon.
Weekly clients could spend more than $1,000 a year on just bathing one pet. She has puppy parents who celebrate their animals’ birthdays with parties and cake, feed their dogs macaroni and cheese, and buy them more Christmas presents than they buy for their human children.
The trend is strong enough to gain the attention of national retail chains. Wal-Mart is cashing in on the pet-pampering craze with an expanded stock of dog apparel including rhinestone-studded collars, sequined bows, and puppy T-shirts bearing phrases like “Dog-a-licious,” “Born Fabulous” and “Love at First Bark.”
Target recently released a series of designer pet products, marketing them as a way for everyday people to participate in the celebrity pet trend. The items include a pet bed from Shabby Chic and a pet carrier by designer Isaac Mizrahi.
Evans Collars in Mount Vernon has made a business off the specialty niche of pet apparel, and ships dog wedding dresses and tuxedos across the United States.
The commitment to pets doesn’t necessarily end at their death. Frank Stine, manager of Park Cemetery in Carthage, said some local residents are willing to spend more than $400 to bury their pets in the cemetery’s new pet section. In 2006, Park Cemetery set aside three acres of burial plots for pets.
“We’ve even had people get their animals disinterred out of the Humane Society’s cemetery and rebury them here,” Stine said. “Money is not an issue when it comes to pets.”
When Kara Hutchcraft’s miniature dachshund, Cassie, started losing the use of her back legs five years ago because of bulging discs in her back, the Joplin woman rushed the failing dog to a Kansas medical center for emergency surgery. It took her three years to pay off the surgery costs, but Hutchcraft said she’s never regretted it.
“I didn’t think twice about it,” she said. “It was my child. She was young, and I knew that she had a lot of good years left.”
Cassie’s back problems got Hutchcraft interested in joining the pet-pampering business. She started massaging the dog’s back to help relieve pain from the surgery, and she said that since she started doing it regularly two years ago, Cassie has been off all pain medications.
Hutchcraft recently graduated from massage school and is working at Touchcraft Therapeutic Massage in Joplin. She hopes to get into pet massage in the future.
So, why are people willing to go so far to ensure their pets’ happiness?
Pets do have some benefits when it comes to their owners’ health. Studies from a number of health institutes and universities have shown that owning a pet helps lower blood pressure, reduces stress, helps reduce heart disease, provides greater psychological stability, lowers health care costs and fights depression.
But the most likely reason that Americans spent $40 billion on their pets last year goes back to the inexplicable connection between people and their pets.
Hutchcraft’s little dachshund, Cassie, now has a host of furry companions. The latest addition came just last year, when Hutchcraft saw a Shiba Inu puppy at a local pet store and fell in love.
That dog cost her $800 and the trouble of potty training one more puppy. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Money was not a consideration in deciding whether or not to get her,” she said. “Some days, I feel like all I do is juggle dogs. We have more dog treats in the house than flour and sugar, but I absolutely love it.”
Digg This!
Story Paging
Next storyPrevious story
Ads by Yahoo!
Posh Puppy Apparel dog crystal collars
Luxury fashions, accessories, dresses, jewelry for your furry friends.
www.barkavenueapparel.com
Member Center
E-mail updates
