There was a time when it seemed as though our beloved pets received just as many gifts as we did for Christmas, but with a downsized economy and austerity measures running rampant through the UK, even our pets are suffering the consequences.
Recently the marketing director for Pets at Home made a statement to the Guardian that pet owners were dramatically scaling back on the size and cost of gifts for their pets this holiday season. Even so, pets are still getting gifts in most cases, but just not as many or as costly as in the past. Scott Jefferson says that pet owners don’t want their furry little friends to miss out entirely on all the festivities but that they just could afford to spend the amount of money they had in past years.
Actually, pet owners in developed countries are spending billions of pounds annually on those furry creatures and the market is said to bring in $41 billion in the United States alone. That equates to £26 billion, which is a lot of money to be spending on pets. These statistics were released by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
Amongst the most popular holiday items for sale in the UK are Santa hats at a cost of £2.49 for dogs and in the United States it seems that belled collars and flashing reindeer antlers are all the rage. In Britain rabbit owners are buying snuggled beds at a cost of £7.99 and even birds are getting seasonal treats with cranberry suet blocks.
Even though we like to pamper our lovable furry friends, and even though we have cut back on spending this year, pet owners are being advised to be careful with the holiday treats. Each year too many pets are poisoned with tasty people foods such as chocolate. This has a substance called theobromine which is highly toxic for pets, especially for dogs.
And don’t forget all that tinsel that gets wound up in the intestines of pets who just want to eat up that glitter! What started as an inexpensive Christmas for your beloved pet could end in a costly surgery. Austerity has hit us all, but we still aren’t willing to deny our furry friends and who could blame us? Have you ever seen a pet fuss because its gift wasn’t from a high street shop?
