Puppy love
The crazy money we spend on our pets
rom cats, to dogs, to goldfish — pets have become a $ 1.8 billion business. That’s how much New Zealanders spent on our animal companions last year. That figure — up from $ 1.6b in 2011 — includes everything from pet insurance, to food, minding services, grooming and pet care luxuries.
The NZ Companion Animal Council ( NZCAC) says 64 per cent of Kiwi households own a pet, and this country holds the world record for the highest per capita cat ownership.
Forty four per cent of households own at least one cat, and almost 30 per cent have a dog, with medium and large breeds the most popular, although smaller breeds are on the rise.
Last year the average household spent $ 1686 on dogs, up from $ 1571 in 2011. The average for cats was $ 1005 per household, up from $ 883 in 2011.
Dr Jessica Walker, manager of NZCAC, says statistics suggest pet owners are becoming more knowledgeable about their pets’ needs.
And Alice McKinley, director of Kin Marketing, believes Kiwis’ increased spending on their pets shows animals are filling the void once occupied by children.
“Millennials are putting off having kids because it’s getting ridiculously competitive to buy a house, living costs are now higher, and so people are happy to spend $ 50 or so, sometimes even more, a month on their pets — more than what they usually would — rather than giving up their jobs to have a baby and not having an income and literally not being able to survive, until they get on to a higher pay bracket.”
The “pet parenting” phenomenon i sn’t likely to stop any time soon, McKinley says.
McKinley, a former public relations executive, realised the opportunities in the pet industry after successfully creating The Big Dog Walk with Lots of Dogs, an annual event which attracts 40,000 people and their dogs nationwide.
Since then, she created her own marketing and events company Kin Marketing and launched her own dogthemed stationery business Paper Scissors Box, as well as getting involved in dog- related events such as community dog walks, dog music festivals and the monthly retail market Paws in Parnell.
While New Zealand has more cats, McKinley says Kiwis spend more on their dogs.
“You’ve got millennials who are driving the trend, and then you’ve got retired people who are living longer and healthier lives, and they are part of it as well,” she says. “Funnily enough, during the [ global] financial crisis the pet industry increased by 10 per cent — people really are happy to cut out chocolate, travel or other things, but they’re not going to get rid of their pets.”
Social media is also driving up expenditure, she says.
“Social media is a place to show off your pet, and some of these accounts are doing ridiculously well. There’s a pug that has over 2 million followers; you’ve got Instagram dog influencers now in which people are earning thousands of dollars — the equivalent of what you would get as a human, if not more.”
Forty per cent of people say they think their pets love them more than their partner does — possibly another reason why they are prepared to fork out so much money.
Auckland- based pet photography company Dog & Co, which also distributes collars finished with Swarovski crystals and other costly materials, is not short of business.
The family- run company sells luxury collars priced from $ 52 to $ 119, and its professional photo shoots with a minimum of six edited photographs of your furry friend will set you back $ 75, or $ 220 for 20 shots.
Co- owner Steve Antunovich says photo shoots with dogs are most popular, but the number of other pets his daughter Kirsty shoots is on the rise.
“We see so many younger ones having pets and they spoil them rotten, and they deserve to be,” he says. “Kirsty has some amazing photos of dogs that dote on their owners and owners that dote on their dogs . . . You see the love in these peoples’ and dogs’ eyes and its just magic.” Antunovich says New Zealand i s increasingly adopting the pet culture seen in the US.
“You go to cafes now and people sit outside with their dogs, but I’m also starting to see the dogs come inside, especially in places likes Kingsland and the other trendy places — you see the little puppies coming inside with their owners and that’s the way it is in Europe, and that’s the way it is in the States.”
Statistics show people are now wanting healthier treats and food for their pets.
“It all comes from the humanisation of pets,” McKinley says. “When people think of their pets, they think of their own diets.” According to NZCAC’s latest Companion Animal Survey, food was the largest expenditure category in 2015.
The trend to spending on pets is reflected in an assessment by the Mini stry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise, which rates petfood as one of the six best “emerging growth opportunity” sectors in the New Zealand food & beverage industry.
A report focused on investment opportunities within the New Zealand petfood industry, carried out for the ministry and several other organisations, reveals an “increasing number of pet- owners are treating their pets as part of the family, demanding better quality and spending more on their companions”, as petfood trends mirror trends in human food choices.
Also rising is spending on pet insurance. The cost of that insurance is rocketing, and McKinley believes this is the result of insurance providers recognising the level of care owners now expect.
Last year the largest claim at Southern Cross Pet Insurance was just under $ 24,000 for a labrador that was hit by a car and suffered multiple pelvic fractures, requiring surgery. Southern Cross paid out almost $ 10,000 under its GoldRibbon plan.
For the year to June 30, Southern Cross Pet Insurance had more than 21,064 pets covered — 33 per cent cats and 66 per cent dogs — up 29 per cent on the previous year.
Aucklander Jasmin McArdle’s monthly pet insurance premium with Petplan, for her beloved German shorthaired pointers Wilfred and Wilma, has increased from $ 100 a month to more than $ 210 on the basis of a policy change.
McArdle immigrated from Australia two- and- a- half years ago and was able to transfer her pet insurance with Petplan. While the transfer initially worked out to be cheaper, she says she was shocked when the rate for one dog almost trebled recently.
While she says thinks the premium is too high, she still pays it.
“My husband and I have always been advocates for pet insurance . . . and anyone who has got a puppy, I always recommend that they get pet insurance,” she says.
McArdle now forks out $ 210 a month for insurance on her two dogs.
“These pooches are part of the family, and for us it [ insurance] was that we would never, hopefully, be in the position where it would be whether we could save our dogs’ life based on money,” McArdle says.
While pets are a big expense for many owners, for others they have become a source of income.
Off- the- lead dog walking service Hound Dog High began at the end of 2014 when founder Jennifer Brewer saw an opportunity.
She says there were just a handful of dog walking services when she started, but today there are plenty.
Brewer believes increased spending on pets is not a passing trend, and will continue.
“In a time when having human babies does not have the focus it used to, fur babies provide an alternative option. They are wonderfully receptive and teach us so much about love and kindness, and they generally keep us happier and healthier,” she says. “Dogs are a valued member of the family nowadays and whatever you want to give them, you can get locally or otherwise.”