Why we treat our pets like royalty
By Michael Schaffer
March 29, 2009

BACK IN NOVEMBER 2007, Utah’s Deseret News wrote up a five-year-old Shih Tzu whose wardrobe included a pink mohair sweater and a fur-trimmed parka. The same month, the Arizona Republic reported on the growing popularity of puppy Tupperware parties. And in South Carolina, the Greenville News highlighted an increasingly common sight on local sidewalks: pet strollers. Such conveyances might have proved popular at the six Dallas-area malls that announced preholiday “pet nights,” where animals could sit for a picture with Santa.

Gilded-age indulgences that ended when recession officially arrived a month later? Hardly. According to the American Pet Products Association, the pet industry – which includes everything from old-fashioned kibble to new-age veterinary acupuncture – grew by $2 billion in 2008. For 2009, the association predicts $45 billion in sales. Fifteen years ago, that number was $17 billion. “We’re as recession-resistant as any industry I can think of,” declares Bob Vetere, the association’s president.

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