Mid-day Extra: Spending is unleashed on pets
Americans were expected to spend over $300 million this year on Halloween costumes… for pets. And it doesn’t stop there.
A study out by American Pet Products Association says that an average household with a dog spends 47 percent more per year on routine visits to the vet than a decade ago. That number jumps up to 73 percent for cat owners.
We asked Wendy Bounds of the Wall Street Journal about all of the factors that contribute.
It turns out, a lot of the cost-per-pet increases come from rising health care expenditures — reflecting the same issues that many humans are having these days.
But it also seems as though spending on your pet seems to be one of those pockets of the economy that is relatively recession proof.
Some of the wackier expensive pet purchases? A faux-fur mink coat… and a treadmill.
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