Quote:
Originally Posted by K9-Lovers
Well, most of you will be surprised when I say that I agree with the title of this thread started by Taj44, "Our Society Has Crossed a Line."
According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA), $17 billion was spent on pets in 1994 as compared to almost $51 billion in 2010. http://www.americanpetproducts.org/p...strytrends.asp |
That jump hasn't been fueled so much by pet-cost inflation as by human shopping weakness.
"There's a whole lot of new ways to spend money that you don't need to," said Stephen Zawistowski, the executive vice president for national programs at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New York."
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...tsInCheck.aspx
The rep of ASPCA goes on to say all the other bling that people spend money on for their pets is not for the pet, its for you. The dog could care less if he has some of the high priced items.
As far a trying to prove that being a nation of people who spend too much money on their pets has somehow made us better human beings, I'm sorry, you lost me there. With all the money going up on spending costs for pets, I don't see a corresponding increase in charitable donations for human beings in need. And I still see our nation involved in wars and killing people overseas. Ghandi's quote referred to the way animals are treated. We've always treated our animals well. Over-spending on pets does not mean they are being treated more humanely, it just means we're spending more money that could be used elsewhere to help HUMANS.