Fur Babies

The utter devotion to pets and mentality that they are as much a part of a household as its human occupants is a ideology that permeates throughout Western culture and has grown in the past several years.  In 2000 American pet owners spent $17.8 billion on their pets, but by 2014 that number nearly doubled to $30.4 billion.  It's quite a leap.  And the number of services available to pets has increased as well.  There are pet boutiques and hotels and decorative dog-friendly baked goods.  If there's a market for something, why not make a product for it?  It boosts the economy to pamper pets in such a manner, after all.  

Interestingly, this ideology does seem to be focused on Western countries.  In South Africa the President encouraged the populous to shun the idea of pet ownership due to a cultural sentiment that pampering a pet is a waste of resources.  In many parts of Africa and Asia dogs are seen as wild and creatures to be feared, while in the West we sometimes let them share our bed.

Research has shown that in studies (conducted in Western countries, its unclear whether the results transfer to countries with different cultural perspectives on animal ownership) the owners of pets can receive health benefits from their furry companion.  There's therapy pets, service dogs, and even critters without formal training that make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  They help us boost heart health, reduce stress and depression.  That's all just from being around pets, when we add in the side-benefits from taking care of them (like long walks where we end up more worn out than our pets) they become walking health boosts.

It makes sense that we want to spoil those who do so much for us and love us unconditionally, but we need to remember that as much as we love them and it's fun to pamper them, pets are animals first.  Treating your pet too much like a human can lead to accidentally poisoning them by feeding them the wrong people food, misreading their actions (they may not have peed in the house because they missed you, but instead because have a urinary tract infection), or pampering them to the point where they don't get the exercise they need.

Splurge away pampering your pet, just balance it out by remembering they're an animal first.