FUTURE TRENDS - Millennials Own More Pets than Other Generations

Millennials are, according to Bob Vetere, the President and CEO of the American Pet Products Association (APPA), “a very passionate, active, and connected group” of pet owners.

APPA released their 2017 National Pet Owners Survey at the end of March, and the findings indicate that, for the first time, millennials own more pets than Gen Xers or baby boomers.

Millennials are the generation born between 1981 and 2000, and reading between the lines of the report, it is possible to see hints of a generation leaning on their pets as they struggle with ongoing economic stress.

Some of the key findings from the APPA report are:

·       85% of owners believe pets are a good source of affection

·       82% agree that interacting with a pet can help them relax

·       81% are aware that owning a pet can be beneficial to their own health

·       81% feel unconditional love for their pet

·       61% feel buying a pet product made in the USA is important to them

Many of these findings are encouraging.

Engaged, committed, loving pet owners are good for pets and for pet-related industries. However, when discussing the millennial generation, intentions cannot be teased apart from economics.

Millennials are the subject of heated debate among pundits and professionals.

Are they the most entitled generation? (Probably not.) The most narcissistic generation? The most cautious generation? The most unique generation? The most stressed out generation? The most anxious generation? The most progressive generation?

If nothing else, they may be the most speculated upon generation!

Some of these generational traits have significant implications for the role of millennials within the pet industry.

In 2014, Forbes reported that half of Millennials were living paycheck to paycheck, and three years later, millennials are carrying high debt loads.

Despite the fact that millennials are a passionate generation of pet owners, pet ownership is expensive and millennials are a generation beset by economic insecurity and political volatility.

This economic instability is one reason so many millennials own pets, but not houses.

It is also one reason so many love their pets unconditionally, but are forgoing or delaying parenthood.

But, despite the fact that pet ownership is not as expensive as home ownership or parenthood, economic instability can put pet ownership at risk.

In Alberta, the Calgary Humane Society has seen a significant increase in owner surrenders coinciding with the ongoing economic struggle.

This pattern repeats itself across North America, where economic hardship is a frequent cause of pet surrender.

Despite this, millennial spending on pets is expected to increase in the next year.

Not only are pets being treated as surrogate children by many millennials, there is also the reality of health benefits resulting from pet ownership.

Studies show that pets can help with everything from PTSD to high blood pressure, and with healthcare costs remaining high, pets may play yet another important role for millennials.

Regardless of the pressures facing the millennial generation, their pets are standing by to help.

About Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a published academic, an editor with the Editors Association of Canada, an independent scholar and researcher, and a self-care and narrative coach. She is particularly interested in the intersection of technology and identity - how our tools shape our selves and change our stories, and in how the nature of work is changing as we incorporate more technology into our daily lives.

LEGAL - New Alaska Legislation Considers Best Interests of Pets in Divorce

A ruling late last year in Saskatchewan found that pets should not be treated like children, with custody determined by the courts.

This decision is in line with the historical treatment of pets as personal property, and although the judge in that case acknowledged that pets are not exactly like the family butter knives, he also said that "To consume scarce judicial resources with this matter is wasteful. In my view such applications should be discouraged.”

However, judges in the United States have recently taken a different view of the situation.

Some courts have addressed issues of custody, visitation, and even alimony.

In one San Diego case, a couple was granted joint custody over their pointer-greyhound mix, Gigi.

Both owners wanted sole custody, and a court battle ensued.

The courts ordered a “bonding study” and one of the owners made a videotape of “A Day in the Life of Gigi.” That owner, Linda Perkins, was eventually granted sole custody.

The court litigation took two years, and cost around $150k in legal fees.

That case was settled in 2000, and in the interim years the number of pet custody cases has increased significantly.

Alaska is the first state to introduce pet-custody legislation, which will allow the courts to make rulings based on the well-being of the animal.

The legislation was sponsored by Republican representative Liz  Vasquez, who said that, “Our pets are members of our families. …[W]e have to remember that we’re sent here to Juneau to represent people; real human beings, many of whom have pets they love as much as their friends and family.”

The Alaska legislation also addresses the issue of pets in domestic violence situations.

Vasquez said, “Imagine being a domestic violence victim with an abuser who uses your pet as a weapon to keep you from calling the police or Troopers. This bill takes that threat away with its victim’s privilege.”

This is a critical issue, since there is a well-established link between pet abuse and intimate partner violence.

Treating pets as property can have unintended negative consequences for victims of abuse.

Similar legislation has been introduced in Rhode Island, where state representative Charlene Lima says, “People can get really vicious in divorces, and using emotional attachment to a pet is something they can use to gain leverage.”

Her bill states that judges should “consider the best interest of the animal.”

It’s unclear whether legislation like this will gain traction in other jurisdictions, but Jeff Pierce from the Animal Legal Defense Fund told the New York Times that, “We totally welcome this development in the law, and we think it’s going to accelerate.”

Canada’s judges may disagree for now, but if the rulings make a change in the safety of human abuse victims, maybe that will change.

About Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a published academic, an editor with the Editors Association of Canada, an independent scholar and researcher, and a self-care and narrative coach. She is particularly interested in the intersection of technology and identity - how our tools shape our selves and change our stories, and in how the nature of work is changing as we incorporate more technology into our daily lives.

Pet Ownership, Guardianship, and the Unintended Consequences for Abused Women

Are pets property?

According to a recent ruling by a Saskatchewan judge, they are. This is in line with other rulings regarding how pets should be treated during the dissolution of a marriage or common-law relationship.

Pets are property, and the courts do not get involved in who gets “custody” of the toaster.

It seems straightforward, and many people agree with the judge’s line of thought.

Following up on his ruling, Justice Danyliuk stated that, “To consume scarce judicial resources with this matter is wasteful. In my view such applications should be discouraged.”

But the issue of whether pets should be treated as sentient beings who have guardians, or property that is owned, is fraught.

Many organizations that investigate incidents of animal cruelty support laws recognizing that animals feel pain (sentient beings) and subsequently have penalties reflect this.

Pets have been gaining legal rights over the last several years, and although large organizations like the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Kennel Club oppose any move towards granting pets legal personhood, the issue continues to come up in North American courts.

Vets worry that the move to personhood could impact their ability to perform veterinary medicine.

As the AVMA points out, could it become illegal to spay or neuter pets because of “reproductive rights”? Could vets or pet guardians be sued for providing what someone else might consider inadequate care?

There are fears that a shift to guardianship from ownership would leave people at risk of egregious state intervention, and would violate their human rights and interfere with their relationships with their pets.

And there is the concern expressed by Justice Danyliuk in the recent Saskatoon case, that treating pets as sentient beings more akin to children than to toasters, would clog up a court process that already faces frequent delays.

Treating pets like children and asking the courts to determine their care after divorce would add yet another strand to the Gordian knot of relationship dissolution.

But there are two critical aspects to the guardianship vs. ownership debate that must be addressed, even if it does add time and complication to divorce proceedings.

The first is whether non-human beings can be persons at all.

India has taken steps towards granting dolphins personhood (though these are first steps only), and the Nonhuman Rights Project in the United States is also pursuing personhood status for some animals.

Corporations, of course, have been granted legal personhood throughout the United States.

Although it has yet to be determined whether nonhuman animals will be granted personhood rights, the door is creaking open.

The other aspect relevant to treating pets as sentient beings rather than owned property, regards the well-established link between domestic abuse and the abuse of pets.

Pet custody has a significant impact on women’s ability to leave abusive situations.

Abused women are 11 times more likely to witness their pets being abused, according to a large 2007 study.

As Kerri Froc at the Canadian Bar Association’s National Magazine reports, threats of violence against pets “one tool in abusers’ arsenal of emotional abuse and control.”

The issue of personhood, and of whether the relationship with pets is one of owner or guardian, intersects with other legal issues.

While it is clear that pets are not children (no matter how much they are loved and doted on), it is also not clear if treating them as property is the best way to continue.

About Tiffany Sostar

Tiffany is a writer, editor, academic, and animal lover who came late to her appreciation of pets. At 18, a rescue pup named Tasha saved her from a depression and she hasn't looked back. She has worked as the canine behaviour program coordinator for the Calgary Humane Society, and was a dog trainer specializing in working with fearful and reactive dogs for many years. She doesn't have any pets right now, but makes up for it by giving her petsitting clients (and any dogs she comes across on her frequent coffee shop adventures) extra snuggles.

Dogs are the "Top Dog" in Pet Ownership Around the World

(animalplanet.com)

According to global market research platform, GfK, the canine variety takes first place as most common household pet worldwide – with Latin countries, Argentina (82%), Mexico (81%) and Brazil (76%), ringing in as the countries with the highest rates of overall pet ownership per household.

By contrast, Asian countries ranked the lowest in pet ownership with only 31% of South Korean households owning a pet, followed by Hong Kong at 35% and Japan at 37%; according to GfK, however, the rates of pet ownership in Asian countries is on the rise.

The survey, which includes 27,000 online customers from 33 counties, uncovered that 33% of all respondents were dog owners, with cats coming in second at 23%, followed by fish at 12%, birds at 6% and other pets at 6%.

According to the survey, the U.S. comes in fifth place for pet ownership with around 70% of all U.S. households owning a pet – 50% of these own a dog and 39% a cat.

With the old adage in mind that a dog is ‘man’s best friend’, statistics like these indeed bring the question to light: what causes people to love dogs so much?

An article by Jon Bastian, “The look of love: how humans and dogs bond” refers to an interesting study recently conducted by animal behaviourist, Takefumi Kikusui, at Azabu University in Sagamihara, Japan.

The study measures the oxytocin levels in dogs and humans before and after being brought into a room together for 30 minutes of interaction. The study found that levels went up in cases where the dogs and humans made significant eye contact during the interaction – 130% in dogs and an impressive 300% in humans.

By comparison, there was no change in oxytocin levels with wolves and their owners put together in a room, as eye contact is perceived as aggression by wild dogs.

While it would appear too early to draw anything conclusive, this study is another indication that there is something going on below the surface – on a hormonal level - that draws humans and dogs together.

The study has caught the attention of many in the animal sciences world. Reference to the study in a sciencemag.org article, “How dogs stole our hearts” cites Brian Hare, an expert on canine cognition at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, as referring to this study as ground-breaking in providing possible insights into why service dogs are so helpful for persons living with autism and PTSD.

When it comes to the love between man and his dog, science just might be on your side.

By Lindsay Seewalt

Lindsay is an experienced journalist and mother of three whose heart and home is always open to a four-legged friend. With her Corgi, Angie, as household editor-in-chief, Lindsay gives back to the animal planet through the written word on anything and all ado about pets. She is passionate about topics regarding animal welfare and responsible pet ownership, which she aims to instill in both her readers and children to be compassionate animal lovers who are conscious and considerate that furry friends around the globe deserve a voice.

APPA Reports US Pet Ownership at Record Levels

Pet Ownership as a percentage of the U.S. population
APPA 2013-14 National Pet Owners Survey

Pet ownership in the Untied States is at a record high, according to the American Pet Products Association's 2013-14 National Pet Owners Survey. 

The survey indicates that pet ownership among all U.S. households is 68%. This equates to 82.5 million pet owning households in 2012. 

"As an industry, we have been working very hard to promote the joys and benefits of responsible pet ownership and we are thrilled to see that more people are opening their homes and sharing their families with pets than ever before," said APPA president and CEO, Bob Vetere. 

Dog ownership swelled to 56.7 million households, while cat ownership grew to 45.3 million. these gains in dog and cat owning households mean the total number of pets has also increased. The current Survey reports a total of 83.3 million dogs and 95.6 million cats in the U.S. 

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