Household Pets Doing OK in the Depression

The only thing more amusing than the existence of John Deer Fruit Flavored Snacks is that I almost bought a box of them. Happily, I remembered that I could simply photograph the box in the store and that Sherman (dog) has no need for Fruit Flavored Snacks.

Sherman is in the story because he is sporting a John Deere dog collar. Not because we are John Deere fans but because it was on sale at PetsMart. And it came in handy last week at the dog park when a boxer bit off Sherman's previous collar. I know that sounds unlikely but it happened.

So, what's the real story here? Americans may be budgeting and cutting back—but not on purchases for their pets, at least the house-sized ones. News reports are picking up on horses that cannot be supported but the smaller animals are doing just fine. It seems that humans will cut back on their own groceries in order to continue purchasing specialty dog food and other pet supplies.

And while I make an effort to trim the pet budget (the collar was on sale and I would have purchased it with any other logo on it), I have to admit that I was ready to buy human snack food for a dog based on a logo affinity for which the dog has no awareness. Although I suspect he would have loved the sugar.

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.