This is a feature story I wrote for my Spring 2010 Writing for the Media 2 class on March 17, 2010.
Four-Legged Family Members
It’s the age-old story. Timmy fell down the well, and it’s up to Lassie to rescue him.
As long as she doesn’t get her designer jacket dirty, or her boots.
But If it’s raining, she has an umbrella.
If she gets stiff from saving the day, she can get a massage.
If she develops chronic pain, she can get acupuncture.
If the event causes behavioral problems, she can go to therapy.
If she is injured and racks up a lot of medical fees, she has her own HMO.
If the well is far away, she can ride safely home with her owners in her car seat.
Once home she can don a monogrammed sweater and chew on an eco-friendly toy while her owners cook her a special meal and praise her courageous deed.
It’s not as far-fetched as one might think.
Eighty-eight percent of U.S. households that own a pet consider it to be a member of their family, according to the December 12th, 2007 edition of Brandweek. 69% of pet owners allowed their pet to sleep with them, 65% bought their pets a holiday present, 23% cooked meals especially for their pets, and 18% have dressed their pet up in some type of clothing.
America’s four-legged friends are considered by some to be kid substitutes, according to the June 21st, 2004 issue of Forbes. The fastest growing group of pet buyers are those want to put having a family on hold, or no longer have one, and desire a temporary substitute. Empty nesters and young professionals fit the bill. According to the March 30, 2007 issue of the Central New York Business Journal, they are the driving force behind the demand for “human-like pet services.”
“Our clientele is truly the person who treats their pet like one of the family. They shop for their dog as if it is a child and in fact many of times, they are!” said President of Bitch New York, Stacy Braverman.
Bitch New York makes designer dog clothing and other products. Their website advertises “the hottest trends in canine couture.” Bitch New York is not the only company catering to the pet owners that consider their pet a family member, and treat it like one. Paw Palace, Pampered Puppy, Poochie Heaven, Upscale Pup, The Diva Dog, The Gilded Paw, and Modern Tails, are all companies that offer designer pet clothing, accessories, beds, carriers, and other items for the owners that pamper their pet.
The pet clothing industry is not limited to cats and dogs, but also extends to birds. Bird owners can purchase flightsuits, “the revolutionary bird diaper”, from Avian Fashions, along with sweaters, and tuxes for formal occasions, according to a newsweek interview with Chellie Sheff, an owner of two parrots that are nearly always dressed.
Along with clothing there are “pet-cessories”, accessories for pets that include everything from pet jewelry to bacon-flavored bubbles, according to Newsweek. If pet owners gone pet parents have become protective, they can watch their cat’s every move with CatCam. CatCam is a camera that can be attached to a cat’s collar so the owner can download the video on the cat’s return and find out where their cat has been, according to a March 16th, 2010 Newsweek article. If their cat has had a particularly interesting day, owners can upload the video to CatCam’s website, allowing others to view a day in the life of a cat.
The view of pets as family members affects not just how the owner treats the pet while they are alive, but also how the owner copes with the loss of their four-legged friend. Rainbow Boutique, a company selling pet products, sells Life Jewel pendants. Pet owners can submit a sample of their pet’s DNA – ashes, cheek swab, or a lock of hair – and the DNA is created into a pendant the owner can wear to celebrate and honor their companion, according to RainbowBoutique.com. Available in twelve different colors, pet owners can purchase a DNA pendant for $75.
If the owner wants something more visual, they can purchase a digital pet urn from pet-urns.com for $250.00. These digital pet urns display a picture slideshow for owners to enjoy and reminisce, while holding the ashes of their beloved companion.
According to the April 30th, 2008 edition of the Charlotte Observer, North and South Carolina pet owners continued to pamper their pets despite the bad economic times in 2008 and pet businesses continued to grow.
Pet owners cut back on how much they spent on themselves, but certainly not on what they spent on their four-legged friends, according to the December 2009 issue of Entrepenuer. The total $45.5 billion spent on pets in the U.S. in 2009 is more than the gross domestic product of all but 64 world countries.
“Over the past decade, pets have gone from cuddly companions to a booming business,” said president of the Intelligence Factory, Marian Salzman in a speech she gave to the Global Pets Forum in 2000.
Since 2001, a year after Salzman gave her speech, Americans have increased their yearly spending on their pets by more than 19 million dollars.
America isn’t alone in the pet industry boom. According to Salzman’s speech, China and the United Kingdom both are giving pets the royal treatment.
According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans are expected to spend 47.7 billion dollars on their pets in 2010. Of that 47 billion dollars, Americans are expected to spend $3.36 billion on pet services such as grooming and boarding.
This is a far cry from Americas’ early treatment of animals as pets.
According to the book “Pets in America: a history” by Katherine C. Grier, European settlers brought over cats and dogs for work purposes, and sometimes as companions. Natives also had established relationships with their dogs. One of the first physical evidences of American animal lovers is the 1700’s American portraits of children with their animals, according to the 2003 issue of Visual Studies. Though they might have been a friend of many American families, animals were still considered somewhat dispensable to Americans in 1849 because of the potential health risks they carried. Many stray cats were killed during the cholera epidemic because they were considered a health threat. “Dog catchers”, now unheard of except in cartoons, were real and in practice, killing many dogs and alley cats because of the widespread fear of rabies.
Animal rights began to develop in the late 1800s. The cruel treatment of work horses helped inspire the founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) in New York 1886, the first humane organization on the Western Hemisphere, according to the ASCPA’s website.
According to Grier’s book, George Washington was considered a dog lover of his time, and imported French hounds from Marquis Lafayette. By the 1860s America had pet shows exclusive to dogs, and by the 1880s certain dog breeds began to become popular: the St. Bernard and the pug, recently imported to the U.S. Americans started to show an interest in purebred dogs. There were early friends of the feline as well, including Mark Twain and Ralph Waldo Emerson’s wife. According to Katherine C. Grier in a Newsweek interview, Mark Twain carried his cats around on his shoulder and gave them unusual names.
Grier went on to say in her book that in the 1900s household pets were many of the same as there are now: dogs, cats, birds, white mice, and guinea pigs. American households did not, however, have the lizards and tropical fish many keep as pets today. Though not exotic, many families did have pets that Americans might consider unusual to have around today. The squirrel was the most popular wild pet of the time, and many of the more affluent families kept deer on their front lawn as “living lawn ornaments.”
The transition from dogs as hunting companions, to shopping companions that travel in a purse was certainly a gradual one.
According to Grier’s book, the middle class in 19th century set more demanding standards for pet keeping. In the 1840s, many instructional books on pet keeping were being published and were directed toward children. There was a common assumption that children keep pets. A pet industry slowly developed between 1840 and 1930. Dry dog food was invented in the 1860s by a company named Spratts. Unlike today, where dog food is a common grocery item, where pet owners may have to be convinced dry dog food is enough for owners had to be convinced it was even necessary to buy with free samples and commercial sponsorships. In 1890 modern pet stores began to pop up. By the 1920s, pet owners could buy their pet food and supplies at any five-and-ten store. Pet supplies and equipment were the most profitable part of the pet industry in that time, just like they are today.
Katherine Grier also said in her book that she believes developments in the process of pet keeping have sped up significantly since the 1970s.
Perhaps Americans drastic increase in the quality of treatment their pets receive can be traced to their affect on owners. According to the American Pet Products Association, pet owners have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those who don’t own a pet. Additionally, studies have shown that pets help to lower stress levels, prevent heart disease, fight depression, and lower health care costs.
Whatever the reasoning behind it, many Americans value their pets highly.
And if Lassie didn’t make it, God rest her soul, her owners could bury her in a pet cemetery, complete with a stone shaped like a dog.
The notion of pets as just animals can safely rest in peace.
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