I’m a dog person. We have had cats and they are definitely easier to take care of–we even had one that was a lap cat (my lap) but there is something about dogs that is just so much more real. Don’t get me wrong—I am not a mushy dog lover who puts the dog ahead of everything. My husband does enough of that—his first words when I suggest going on vacation or away for the weekend are “Can Jada go?” Aargh! Just because she can doesn’t mean she should. He loves the unconditional love a dog can give, so I guess I understand his devotion to the other woman in our life. Anyway, here’s our baby–then and now!
I can’t really blame him, though—he is a Baby Boomer like me and research shows that, as usual, boomers are changing “normal”. In the past, pet ownership has decreased in the senior population—those over 55. But of course, we boomers do things our way, as we always have! Senior ownership of pets is increasing as the boomers hit their senior years. I like to think it is because we are more active than other generations have been in our senior years.
Not only are we keeping our dogs longer, but we are spending more time and money on them. As boomers age and retire, our focus shifts to leisure and, increasingly, that includes our pets. We spend a lot of money on them as well (please don’t get me going on this one!). Rory and I are fairly typical when it comes to expenditures of dog related products and services.
Here are just a few:
