Just another reason why we love them so much
If you woke up this morning and hopped online to buy your pet a treat instead of hopping into the shower, you’re not alone.
Bloomberg News reports that since we all went into lockdown in the middle of March, sales of personal hygiene products at Unilever are down, while Nestlé has seen an uptick in sales that reveal where our hearts truly lie — our pets.
No big shocker, I suppose. But the numbers seem to indicate what we all kind of knew to be true in the first place. When we went into lockdown about six weeks ago, we panic-bought pet food and treats for our fur babies. And that’s not from nothin’. I mean, it’s not like every expert and so-called expert hasn’t advised us to keep at least two weeks’ supply of pet food and medication at home in case we get sick, or worse, end up hospitalized.
And to be clear, they have. They have been saying this. BUT, the buying spree for our pets didn’t end there. Apparently, we have continued to indulge them in treats, perhaps to help offset our constant smothering attention. Or maybe that’s just me.
But here’s the million-dollar question: do we care more about indulging our pets than smelling minty-fresh for the people with whom we are quarantined? Apparently, yes.
To be fair, I have yet to hear or read about any experts or socalled experts advising us to shower more so that the people who are literally nearest and dearest to us can stand to be in the same room with us, but I kind of thought that was a given. I kind of thought we didn’t have to be told that (says the woman who turns her camera off for video chats late in the week because who can bother washing their hair on a Thursday? Come on).
It can be argued that not showering or using deodorant is a strategic way to get some alone time for those who are hunkered down in very close quarters with others.
I mean, there’s really no better way to passive-aggressively let someone know that their breathing is making you batty than to stop using deodorant, showering, brushing your teeth. Um, and for those of you doing this … I get it, but isn’t there a better way?
Can’t you just leave crumbs in the butter or something less infuriating?
I will admit that I have been using my less-effective deodorant since we went into lockdown. Because, why use the good stuff when I’m not out and about in the world?
For those of us who have experimented with natural deodorants, we know that when we find one that works with our particular body chemistry, we stick with it like … well, like a homemade non-medical face mask in a grocery store. We hold onto it. We cherish it. We use it until we’re scraping our armpits with whatever residue is left on the plastic applicator (OK, that part is not like the face mask).
Because most of the time, natural deodorant is not cheap, so it makes sense to try to use the less effective but equally expensive products when there are fewer opportunities to be judged by our co-workers and the person from whom we buy our morning coffee.
Now, do our pets care if we shuffle around the house, unwashed, stinky, wearing the same pair of yoga pants with different tops five days in a row so that people on the other end of the video chat think that we make an effort to look nice every day? Nope, they don’t care. So, we reward them, don’t we?
We buy them more treats and toys. And yes, profits go up for companies like Nestlé. And suddenly the world makes sense again.