More American homes now keep a pet than a child under 18, and the money that follows the animal is the one household line that never gets cut.
Pets are in 71 percent of US households, against 39 percent of families with a child under 18 (down from 54 percent in 1974). Spending runs to 158 billion dollars, and the economy barely dents it: 77 percent say it hasn't changed whether they keep a pet, and 95 percent call pet health a priority they won't reduce, cutting restaurants and travel first. About 80 percent of dog owners already call the animal family, and you do not means-test family. It is not the market. It is just what you do for your own.
