But it turns out I’m not exactly alone.
FinMasters, a group of financial writers, researchers and professionals, has statistics that show pet owners of almost all income levels spend roughly 1% of their annual earnings on their pets.
Ed and I agree do agree on this: In consultation with the vet, we buy the best foods and supplements for our pets’ dietary needs. We’ve never quivered about the money we spend on yearly wellness checks and vaccine boosters. And, of course, any additional vet visits if one of them is having issues.
Toys are a different matter. When we enter our local pet store to pick up food, supplements, kitty litter and the like, there are never any eye rolls, shaking of heads or shoulder shrugs. Those non-verbal displays only happen when I put toys on the checkout counter to be added into our total purchases.
To be fair, I can see Ed’s point. I’ve loved toys since I was a child, particularly puzzles, games and stuffed animals. The saddest day of my life was when I concluded our daughter, Jordan, was too old for me to shop at the Learning Express.
Problem is, I want to buy Teddy and Pip toys regardless of their needs or wants. I play with both and know their “likes and dislikes,” but I’m still mesmerized by all the bright, high-tech, cute-looking toys I think they should have.
I’m not alone in my toy buying. Just for this past Christmas, USA Today found some 6% of Americans spent more than $1,000 on gifts for their pets and the majority stated they would spend $51 to $75.
So as Ed heads for the food aisles when we go shopping, I head to the cat toy aisle. I love to check out the selection of balls, catnip mice and electronic gizmos designed to entertain felines for lengthy periods. After a few minutes, looking over the displays of colorful objects and reading about what they offer the cat (“mental stimulation, exercise, meaningful connections between them and their human”), I make my selection and head over to the dog toy aisle.
Because Teddy is a destructive chewer, I go straight for the heavy chew toy section, where I can easily find something for the black Lab. I then head up to the checkout counter to meet Ed and pay for our purchases.
“I see you found some things for the boys,” Ed says as if I’ve ever walked out of a pet store empty-handed.
“Well, Teddy will love the chew stick but how many does he have already, 100?” he grouses.
“What’s this,” Ed continues as he holds up a square-shaped paper thingmabob.
“Teddy doesn’t have 100 and you know I throw the ones away that have sharp edges from his chewing,” I respond with an air of authority. “And that square thing is a paper bag tunnel with a hole in the middle. What’s not for Pip to love? He loves to play with the paper bags we bring home from the grocery store and tunnels are one of his favorite toys.”
Ed eyes me suspiciously: “You may be right about the paper bag tunnel. He does love his tunnels and paper bags. And Teddy has never turned down a new chew toy, especially if it’s flavored.”
“This one is peanut butter,” I respond, triumphantly carrying my purchases to our SUV.
My mood soured, however, when we got home and Pip didn’t like the paper bag tunnel. I would say he loathed it, in fact. I went looking for him to lure him back with chicken chip pieces and found him stretched out in the middle of his old tunnel.
Teddy took the peanut butter chew toy and happily ran around the great room several times before plopping down on the carpet to work on it. I saw him about five minutes later with the new chew toy by his side, chewing on a ring chew toy that our friend, Christy, gave him years ago.
At that point, I threw up the proverbial white flag and picked up the paper bag tunnel. I did throw out two well-chewed toys of Teddy’s.
So I happily accept the pet store ban. After all, there’s always the internet for toy shopping.
MORE DETAILS
Half of all U.S. households include a pet. The most popular:
1. Dogs
2. Cats
3. Fish (fresh and salt water)
4. Birds
5. Reptiles
6. Smaller animals, i.e., mice, guinea pigs, rabbits
7. Horses
SOURCE: finmasters.com/pet‑spending
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