The High Cost Of Keeping Pets Cool And Comforted At Home

Yakima is in the grasp of a triple-digit heat wave and among the tips, guidance, and advice we always hear when the mercury loses its mind is to "stay hydrated" and keep your "pets stay at home"!!

Get our free mobile app

So turning on the A/C is a given....but what else do pet lovers do to keep their furballs comfy and happy while the "parents" are away?

A company called Cree Lighting took a survey to find out.

We surveyed 1,147 pet-owning Americans over a week in March 2022 to find out what extra care measures they take for their pets when leaving them home alone. We asked people what specific things they do for their pets before they leave, how much their pets have influenced their purchasing decisions if they leave any particular media on for them during their hours left alone, and much more.

The Cost Of Leaving The Pets At Home

So, let's add up the basics for most urban pet owners...

2 lights left on

ceiling fan

TV set

cable and router

central A/C

$77.44 a month or $893.28 per year!

But, if you add in pet sitters and dog walkers, the bill goes up to $93.00 per month!

To put that in perspective the survey says that's the equivalent of about 49 Uber rides, two months of the average student loan payment, or a round-trip flight from NYC to London!

OK, the A/C is humming, the tv set is on...just what shows are your pets most likely to watch? Survey respondents say the most common answers were things like Animal Planet, Dog TV, and classic comedies like The Andy Griffith Show and Three’s Company to just simple videos of cows mooing!

Pet Influencers

For many folks, pets hold the same kind of power to persuade that children do. Two-thirds of people say that their pet has changed their vacation plans, 55% say they’ve purchased specific furniture because of their pet, and 32% of pets have impacted where their owner lives. An additional 25% of pet owners have changed their career habits (working in an office versus remotely) because of their pets.

No judgment here, do what you do to keep your pets entertained, happy and safe and for the next couple of weeks keep them out of the car and out of the heat!

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Categories: Consumer Awareness, Yakima News