PAWSITIVE
GROWTH PET-FOCUSED BUSINESSES SEE NATIONAL INDUSTRY TRENDS ON A LOCAL SCALE BY CALEB SIGMON & AMANDA MACLAREN
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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN MICHAEL SIMPSON
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOSH MILLER
Pittsboro Pet Supply Manager Josh Miller with Stella, his 7-year-old Labrador-cattle dog mix who he adopted from Farm Friends Rescue. His other pup, Nova, is a 1-year-old blue heeler. “They love the life of being shop dogs!” he says.
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hances are good that you or someone you know has adopted an animal within the past couple of years. “I believe pets proved to be good therapy for people during the isolation of COVID quarantine,” says Stephanie Clark, a registered veterinary technician and practice manager at Hill Creek Veterinary Hospital in Pittsboro. “Many newer clients are people who finally had time during quarantine to go out and acquire a pet for the first time. [They’ve since] recognized the stress relief and benefits of having a pet companion and are doing more to maintain that bond.” Morgan Cartier Weston and her husband, James Weston, adopted their pit bull-beagleChihuahua mix, Casper, in 2020. “We were home more than ever and knew we had the time and love to give a puppy, so it was the perfect time to bring him home,” Morgan says. “We have loved walking the trails in Fearrington Village and at the Haw River with Casper and his ‘big’ brother, Chico,” she adds of the couple’s other dog, a dachshund-Chihuahua mix, who they adopted two years prior.
SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2022
A nationally representative survey of 5,020 respondents by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals showed that close to one in five households adopted a cat or dog from March 2020 to May 2021. Some of the biggest pet-related trends nationwide – a rise in pet owners purchasing animal health insurance, more consumer demand for high-quality pet food, more veterinary care options and increases in online shopping – are expected to grow in Chatham County as more families move into the area over the next decade. Fifty-two percent of dog and cat owners surveyed by OnePoll in partnership with MetLife Pet Insurance in 2021 reported that they spend more money on their pets every year than they do on themselves. A few of our own veterinarians and pet-focused businesses weigh in on what they’re seeing locally:
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tephanie says that many pet owners were home more during the height of COVID-19 and either noticed health issues in their pets for the first time, or finally had the time to address health issues and get their pet seen by a veterinarian. Pet parents are also purchasing health insurance for their four-legged dependents to safeguard against accidents and help offset some of the veterinary costs to diagnose, treat and manage a pet’s illness or injury. The pandemic lockdown helped drive up the number of insured pets, which more than doubled over the past four years. The industry is valued at $2.83 billion, according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association. Eightyfour percent of the pet insurance industry is covered by Nationwide, Trupanion, Petplan and the ASPCA.