It’s a dog’s life….

Pets outnumber people in the United States by about 60 million, with furry, feathered and scaly inhabitants numbering about 360 million, according to the pet industry. Of these there are a total of 94 million cats and 78 million dogs. Last year, it is estimated that about $42 billion was spent on all pets in the U.S including $ 17 billion for food, $ 10 billion for medicines, $ 12 billion for vet care, and $ 3 billion for grooming and boarding. This figure is larger than the total GDP of over 114 countries in the world. It is equal to the GDP of Sudan and higher than the GDP of Equador.

On average, an owner of a pet in the US spends between $ 1000 to 1500 per year on their pets. (see table).

Annual average cost in $ Dogs Cats
1. Surgical Vet Visits 453 363
2. Food 217 188
3. Kennel Boarding 225 149
4. Routine Vet 219 175
5. Groomer/Grooming Aids 127 18
6. Vitamins 77 31

7. Treats 66 40

8. Toys 41 26

Total 1425 990

As one can see an increasing percentage of the money is being spent on services that used to be reserved for people: massage therapy, spa treatments, couture clothing and gourmet food. Now you've got hotel chains like the Marriots, the Ws and the Westins where you can bring your pet along, and they've got room service for them as well. One of these pet-friendly hotels will bring you, for $19.95, tenderloin in a special souvenir dish with bottled water for your pet, and a bed.

How did it all start?

Humans kept pets as long as 4,000 years before livestock was domesticated. There are dog burials in present day Israel and Jordan that date back to about 14,000 years ago. It seems that dogs were the earliest animal domesticated, probably drawn as wolves to human encampments. Burial evidence of cats as pets dates back 8,300 years, roughly 4,000 years before the ancient Egyptians started depicting cats on tomb walls.

Humans have had a mutually beneficial relationship with these earliest pets. Dogs, whose diet overlaps that of humans, provided their early masters with companionship, warning and possibly hunting assistance. Cats aided ancient farmers by eliminating rodents that threatened grain harvests. But as humans domesticated cats and dogs, they selected traits that over time favored lack of aggression. These docile traits in turn led to a number of evolutional, physical changes in dogs. Things like lop ears and piebald (spotted) coats are things you see in domesticated animals that you don't see in wild animals. But another factor that comes in with selection for lack of aggression is greater playfulness, more sort of puppy or juvenile type behaviors. The most striking is a change in the configuration in the skull and a reduction in the cranial capacity, which implies that dogs become less intelligent as they became more domesticated. Thousands of years later, humans are still looking for these baby-like qualities in dogs, but for different reasons.

Matthew Margolis, a professional dog behavior therapist and animal aggression expert from California, asks his clients why some of them get dogs, especially little dogs. Their response, he says, is, "Well, my children have gone from the home. I'm lonely. I want something to love." The response from young people without families often is that they want a puppy to raise before raising a child—kind of practice before starting out on the real thing!

Despite all this love, there are still almost 5 million dog bites reported each year. And this in turn has given birth to a completely new industry- pet disputes. There are now almost $400 million in legal claims, according to Margolis, who often testifies in pet-dispute court cases.

"Cats and dogs used to eat leftovers from humans, which isn't necessarily bad. But every species of animal has its own nutritional needs," Beaver said. "When you think of a cat you think of them eating a mouse," she said, explaining that a leftover piece of muscle meat does not have the same nutritional value as a mouse, whose body also offered bone and digested vegetables.

Since pets satisfy modern man's emotional needs and so the health of animals has reaped the benefits of human technological advances witness the high quality of pet food, vaccines, chemotherapy and surgical techniques for extending the life of pets. Thirty years ago in the U.S., the average age of a dog was 4 years; the average age of a cat was 3 years. These days the average lifespan of a dog is between eight and 12 years.

Pet owners' spending is not limited to the basics. The APPMA found in its National Pet Owners Survey that 27 percent of dog owners and 13 percent of cat owners buy their pets birthday presents, and 55 percent of dog owners and 37 percent of cat owners buy their pet holiday presents. But as one doting owner confesses "I don't think I've ever bought my dog a gift where he's turned around and said, 'Oh thanks, anyway,' "

Why do humans dote on pets to the tune of billions of dollars a year? Pet owners report it's because of the bond with their animals, which they may refer to as their best friend, a companion or a member of their family.

"Animals give you unconditional, unrestricted love”. And babies don’t?