Fur doesn’t come cheap.
A recent study found that nearly half of millennials surveyed have gone into pet debt — and only one in 10 are actively paying it off.
Researchers for LendingTree tracked 760 pet owners, highlighting the extreme financial lengths young pet-owners are willing to go to for their fur babies: 42 percent were in the red over Fido.
Millennials such as Katie Reynolds have found that even after signing up for pet insurance, the costs of caring for four-legged family members can easily spiral out of control. The 36-year-old mom to three Pomeranians told the Chicago Tribune, when one of her pups needed a $10,000 hip replacement surgery, she didn’t hesitate to dip into savings.
“He was our fall vacation,” Reynolds told the outlet. “He needed it so we changed [our plans] around and are no longer going to Dollywood [in Tennessee].”
The LendingTree study found that “adoption fees, preventative vaccines, well-formulated foods and training, just to give your pet the best chance to live a happy and healthy life,” can put the unprepared on a path to financial ruin.
And that’s not even factoring in unexpected medical emergencies. An American Pet Products Association study found US pet care costs swelled to $72.56 billion in 2018, up from $66.75 million in 2016. (Food, over-the-counter meds and basic vet care accounted for just over $30 billion of the 2016 figure.)
This willingness to shell out big bucks for pets tracks with the intense love most pet parents have for their animals — often caring for them more for their own human children.
Experts say the bottom line bites: Millennials too often adopt pets before they can afford them — or especially emergencies — unlike older animal lovers.
“Members of Gen X and boomers were more likely to pay for expenses using a credit card, too, but they may have been able to pay off the balance in full before the month, so it didn’t incur any debt,” lead researcher Brianna Wright said.
For most millennials, the companionship of a pet is nevertheless priceless. Take it from British soccer player Daniel Sturridge, who took to social media this summer when his beloved Pomeranian was stolen.
“I want him back,” Sturridge said in a series of Instagram stories. “I’ll pay anything.”