People Spend More On Their Pets Than Themselves

In recent studies, it has been discovered that in our downtrodden economy, people are spending more money on their pets, acquiring new pets and their upkeep than they are themselves. In a study done by Purina Dog Food, it has been estimated based on their current sales for this fiscal year that people all throughout the world will spend a total of $50 billion in pet food alone.

This is a record all-time high. Many people attributing this high cost of pet care and product purchases to the fact that more people are staying at home and focusing on their family lives, which includes pets rather than going on vacations, working long hours and they are staying home a lot more.

American pet ownership is at the highest it has ever been. 72.9 billion people have pets now and most of these families treat their pets better than their children. Since 2001, pet product sales have increased by 5% or more each year. Even animal breeders are surprised at how well the sale of new pets is going. One breeder said that even though her golden retriever puppies sell for $1,000 to $1,500 a piece, she still has to have seven to ten litters a year to keep up with the demand. People don't seem to care that these dogs are expensive; they aren't spending the money on anything else.

This has also been the case in pet care and death. People are paying whatever it takes to keep their pet happy and healthy for as long as possible. However, when their pet does finally pass on from old age or an incurable ailment, they spare no expense on cremation and selecting pet urns that they can keep forever with their pets. One man says that he paid over $5,000 for a solid gold pet urn for his Chihuahua puppy when it died of worms because he loved him so much.

That is nearly double what he paid for his wife's urn when she passed two years before his dog. Many pet cemetery directors also say that they have seen a rise in pet funerals. More than fifty of them a year are occurring all over the United States. It is always impressive to see the turn out says one director. People seem to spare no costs when it comes to their pets; however, loved ones are becoming indigent so families don't have to pay for them.