Millennials are raising pets instead of kids. It’s not going well for the pets.
Yena Kim describes her Shiba Inu, Bodhi, as her “soul dog.” She hadn’t planned to get a dog, but when she held him for the first time 15 years ago, she knew he was special. “I truly believe that we were meant to meet,” Kim, now 37, says. “He was meant to be my muse and inspiration.”
Ten years ago, Kim was working what she calls her dream job at Ralph Lauren when she decided to quit so she could spend more time with Bodhi. “It killed me to see his sad face as I left home for work,” she says, “so I designed a new job where I can spend all day with him.”
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Menswear Dog was born. The social-media brand features Bodhi modeling menswear outfits that Kim makes. For a couple of years Kim built the account on nights and weekends while working a day job as a marketing consultant so that she could afford a place in Brooklyn with a yard for Bodhi and her other dog, Luc. She even went without health insurance for a while to make sure the dogs were taken care of. (The pups always had insurance.) Now she earns enough from Menswear Dog to focus on it — and her dogs — full time.
“Bodhi and Luc have forged a path for me and with me,” she says, adding that taking care of her dogs has given her an “immediate sense of purpose.”
She isn’t the only millennial who feels this way about her pets. The generation is leading the way when it comes to pet ownership — almost a third of US pet owners are millennials. And they adore them: In an online survey of American pet owners in April, more than a third of millennial respondents said they’d turn down a higher-paying job to spend more time with their animal companions.
The rise in pet ownership stands in stark contrast to another recent trend: the decline in parenthood. The percentages of US women between 30 and 39 in 2022 who had never had children were the highest they’d been since at least 1976. As more millennials move away from traditional family structures, adopting a pet has become a new milestone. As a result, millennials are increasingly spending time and money pampering their animals. A MarketWatch report said pet spending increased by 67% from 2013 to 2021, and businesses including dog cafs and luxury cat hotels have emerged to cater to the growing demand. But pet trainers and veterinarians say excessive pampering may be leading to health and behavioral problems.
A recent study published in The Lancet predicted that by 2100, more than 97% of countries and territories will have fertility rates below the levels needed to sustain their populations. Meanwhile, the number of people with pets continues to climb. In China, whose population has been shrinking, the urban pet population is expected to surpass the country’s number of toddlers by 2030.
Hayley Kellard lives in the UK and has never had much interest in having children. The 40-year-old says she’s happy being child-free — but when it comes to dogs, it’s a different story. Kellard’s family has always gently mocked her obsessions, joking that she likes dogs more than people, but she says she doesn’t care.
“I say I get ‘proody’ instead of ‘broody,’ because if I see a puppy I’ll just sit on the floor and let it climb all over me,” she said. “I just think dogs are less demanding, they’re so much fun, they’re so affectionate, and they mostly don’t have tantrums.”
Before her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Paddy, died in May, Kellard’s life revolved around him. When she suffered from anxiety and depression, he was the only thing that got her out of bed some days. In his later years, Paddy lived in her spare room, where he slept on a double bed. Kellard and her husband even stopped going on vacations abroad because Kellard didn’t want to leave Paddy at home alone. Instead, they’d go to dog-friendly cottages within the country
Millennials are raising pets instead of kids. It’s not going well for the pets.
Yena Kim describes her Shiba Inu, Bodhi, as her “soul dog.” She hadn’t planned to get a dog, but when she held him for the first time 15 years ago, she knew he was special. “I truly believe that we were meant to meet,” Kim, now 37, says. “He was meant to be my muse and inspiration.”
Ten years ago, Kim was working what she calls her dream job at Ralph Lauren when she decided to quit so she could spend more time with Bodhi. “It killed me to see his sad face as I left home for work,” she says, “so I designed a new job where I can spend all day with him.”
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Menswear Dog was born. The social-media brand features Bodhi modeling menswear outfits that Kim makes. For a couple of years Kim built the account on nights and weekends while working a day job as a marketing consultant so that she could afford a place in Brooklyn with a yard for Bodhi and her other dog, Luc. She even went without health insurance for a while to make sure the dogs were taken care of. (The pups always had insurance.) Now she earns enough from Menswear Dog to focus on it — and her dogs — full time.
“Bodhi and Luc have forged a path for me and with me,” she says, adding that taking care of her dogs has given her an “immediate sense of purpose.”
She isn’t the only millennial who feels this way about her pets. The generation is leading the way when it comes to pet ownership — almost a third of US pet owners are millennials. And they adore them: In an online survey of American pet owners in April, more than a third of millennial respondents said they’d turn down a higher-paying job to spend more time with their animal companions.
The rise in pet ownership stands in stark contrast to another recent trend: the decline in parenthood. The percentages of US women between 30 and 39 in 2022 who had never had children were the highest they’d been since at least 1976. As more millennials move away from traditional family structures, adopting a pet has become a new milestone. As a result, millennials are increasingly spending time and money pampering their animals. A MarketWatch report said pet spending increased by 67% from 2013 to 2021, and businesses including dog cafs and luxury cat hotels have emerged to cater to the growing demand. But pet trainers and veterinarians say excessive pampering may be leading to health and behavioral problems.
A recent study published in The Lancet predicted that by 2100, more than 97% of countries and territories will have fertility rates below the levels needed to sustain their populations. Meanwhile, the number of people with pets continues to climb. In China, whose population has been shrinking, the urban pet population is expected to surpass the country’s number of toddlers by 2030.
Hayley Kellard lives in the UK and has never had much interest in having children. The 40-year-old says she’s happy being child-free — but when it comes to dogs, it’s a different story. Kellard’s family has always gently mocked her obsessions, joking that she likes dogs more than people, but she says she doesn’t care.
“I say I get ‘proody’ instead of ‘broody,’ because if I see a puppy I’ll just sit on the floor and let it climb all over me,” she said. “I just think dogs are less demanding, they’re so much fun, they’re so affectionate, and they mostly don’t have tantrums.”
Before her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Paddy, died in May, Kellard’s life revolved around him. When she suffered from anxiety and depression, he was the only thing that got her out of bed some days. In his later years, Paddy lived in her spare room, where he slept on a double bed. Kellard and her husband even stopped going on vacations abroad because Kellard didn’t want to leave Paddy at home alone. Instead, they’d go to dog-friendly cottages within the country
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