Spending on Pets Reaches Record High

Americans spend an increasingly large amount of money on their pets each year.

An industry spokesman says Americans spent an all-time high of $55.7 billion on their pets in 2013 and will creep close to spending $60 billion this year.

Joan Arnold is the owner of Yakima Tropical Fish and Pet Village on Fruitvale Boulevard in Yakima and she says pets are family so it is no wonder people spend a lot of money.

And in many cases the elderly or people who’s kids are gone, they put their emphasis on their pets.

Bob Vetere of the American Pet Products Association told buyers and exhibitors at the Global Pet Expo in Orlando, Fla., this week that food accounted for $21.6 billion of the spending.

In 1996, when the not-for-profit trade association started tracking pet spending, pet owners spent $21 billion on everything. When adjusted for inflation, that is $31.3 billion.