pet connection

Maybe it’s the stress of modern life. Maybe it’s all those studies showing that walking a dog or petting a cat is good for your health. Whatever the combination, here’s some news that’s not really news to us here at PetConnection:

Pets are more popular than ever.

The American Veterinary Medical Association today released a study showing that to be the case. Elizabeth Weise of USA Today — one of our favorite reporters – reports:

More Americans own pets than ever before, and they’re spending more money to keep them healthy, according to a survey released today by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The number of U.S. households with pets climbed 7.6 million, to 59.5% of all homes, up from 58.3% in 2001. By comparison, about 35% of U.S. households have children, the Census Bureau says.

That’s 26.5 million more dogs, cats, birds and horses than in 2001, says Ron DeHaven of the veterinary association. “It’s a huge increase in the overall number of animals.”

The survey, which is done every five years, also found that about two-thirds of pet-owning households had more than one pet, and just over 20% owned at least five.

Pet owners are spending more on medical care. Veterinary expenditures for all pets were estimated at $24.5 billion in 2006. In inflation-adjusted dollars, Americans spent $22.4 billion in 2001.

Here’s the rest. And here’s more from the AVMA’s Web site.

Christie’s column for the San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate.com Web site is on disaster preparedness. It’s information you need to know — and follow.