Walking among ways to keep pets healthy
JACKSON, Tenn. — March 30 is National Take a Walk in the Park Day, and some walkers may be taking their special fur friend out on a stroll.
Walking your pet can be a great benefit to a lot of animal friends, but other aspects of keeping your pet healthy can be veterinary visits and keeping in stock with the right foods.
“So ever since the pandemic, we’ve noticed an uptick in animal health care, specifically in general practices, but also in specialty and emergency practices. And a big part of that is actually due to the pandemic. People were spending more time at home with their pets,” said Amber Spearman, a Veterinarian Practice Manager at Jackson Animal Clinic and North Madison Animal Hospital.
As pets have been given a better chance at a longer life, a report from Bloomberg Intelligence is showing that elderly pets can help increase the US population by 13% in the coming years.
“Inflation occurs everywhere, right? And that definitely affects the veterinary healthcare field as well. Medications are more expensive for prescriptions, nutritious food is more expensive, things like that,” Spearman said.
That isn’t the only statistic that has changed, as younger consumers are seen moving into purchasing pet products online.
“Four to five years ago, we used to sale a lot of clothing. And we got to looking at inventory versus what we’ve sold, and that’s when I really started seeing the internet kind of taking over,” said Ginger Kemp, the owner of R&J Feed Supply.
This local store changed to more of a feed and supply store with the ability to have customers purchase pets, like baby chickens, ducks, and rabbits.
Spearman also shared that if you treat pets like members of your families, they have seen it can provide a longer lifespan.
Bloomberg Intelligence reports that the US is in a position to remain the largest pet market, with sales approaching $200 billion by 2030.
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