Consumer
Pandemic Pet Adoptions Propel Rise of a $500 Billion Global Market
The pet economy is expected to grow more than 50% in coming years, powered by spending on sophisticated drugs and treatments — and more than a little pampering.
There were about 5 million more pets in the US as of mid-2022 than in 2019, an increase of 4% during the pandemic, according to one estimate.
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Susann Gentile did everything she could for her dog, a Havanese named Elvis.
Elvis had a heart condition, and over his lifetime, the expense of caring for him added up. There was a $900 echocardiogram. There were cardiology bills, heart pills and specialty foods that came to about $8,000 a year. The costs forced Gentile, a Brooklyn public-school teacher, to work all the overtime she could get. Elvis eventually died when he was nine.