I’ve been interning at Brown Bag this summer and it only took me a few days to detect the animal health focus of the agency. In addition to our many animal health clients, we have a crazy amount of pet owners in our agency. And I myself was one of them. Recently I was asked to review a ton of research on millennial pet owners. It got real and personal, quick.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend, but my childhood experience could not have pointed further in the opposite direction. My first dog, Jesse, bit my father, a possible result of endless toddler induced torture. Nonetheless, Jesse was shipped off to a family friend, and in came Gretchen, the seeing eye dog. Gretchen soon suffered a mental breakdown due to the pressures of service dog training. In a leap of faith, we got a dog from a shelter, which we named Sydney. Alas, Sydney had major behavioral issues and was on his way back to the shelter a week later. Finally, Mowgli joined the LaFond household.
His unbounded leaps, mischievous smile, and soft heart made up for lost time. Mowgli was my boy, my best friend, my companion. Years of treating him as my own child helped shape me into the type of pet owner I have become.
It also helped me understand the trends I discovered in my research regarding millennial pet ownership here at Brown Bag Marketing.
Did you know 82 percent of millennials feel getting a pet is part of preparing for a family, as opposed to 59 percent of boomers? Talk about prepping for taking your kid to their first hair cut – 55 percent of millennials feel coat coloring and styling is essential, versus only 15 percent of boomers. And in a great display of family supper, 53 percent of millennials feel dining with their pet is essential, versus 9 percent of boomers. While the revealing millennial vs. boomer pet owner statistics continue, they all really point in the same direction – millennials have developed an increasing sense of parental identity towards their pets.
As a previous dog skeptic converted to overzealous pet owner, I can confidently relate to this generational trend. And it looks like I am in good company at Brown Bag.
Are you a millennial pet owner? Can you relate? Agree or disagree? I would love to know.