What can Fido (or Muffy) teach us about the economy (that we wouldn’t ponder otherwise)?
In the current economy, it never ceases to amaze me how much we spend on our pets. From gourmet pet food to canopy covered beds, it seems nothing is too good for our furry friends.
I have a German Sheppard (puppy), and I insist on buying her Eukanuba’s brand dog-food; it’s full of meat, less byproducts, and it’s supposed to be beneficial for a growing dog. It must be working because she just turned a year old and weighs 75-pounds plus, she’s still got another year before she’s fully grown.
If I get cheaper food, do you suppose I could downsize her?
(Just kidding), but the current economic trend seems to be maximized-downsizing. Whether its corporations or cars, it all amounts to the same thing — (Or does it?)
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Hmmm…..the fat cats have a way of staying fat, yet the little guys lose their jobs; the CEO’s figure out how to get a bigger bone (I mean bonus).
You can bet they’re eating steak (not Eukanuba).
Oops — I’m confusing the issue (back to pets).
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I’ve always been a dog person (but cats, although they act a bit like drag-queens, are cool too). It’s nice to come home to someone that is actually excited to see you, so why not spend the extra money for that special food, right?
One of the interesting things about this trend is what the senior citizens spend to indulge their animals. Plenty of these folks are living on social-security, barely subsisting, but they still spend a fortune on canned gourmet cat and dog foods.
If you were to add up the cost of these foods per pound, most of these folks would see that they’re spending roughly 8 to 10 dollars a pound for the stuff.
I say go for it (as long as you don’t have to survive on Kraft-Macaroni and PB&J sandwiches), otherwise, you might want to switch to a cheaper alternative.
The main-idea to all of this is really that I ponder what sorts of impacts items such as the food labeling laws will have on free-market foods & dairy.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26890660/
There is always someone looking for a means to cheapen a product or necessity but frankly, it is absurd to think that we should do this to any extent; regardless whether dog-food or people-food.
I hope the trend stays only with the flux and doesn’t position itself as a standard-practice in the market. I hope that a few companies come along and do the right thing by helping to straighten the moralistic and ethical standards to food production & distribution.
For everyone’s sake; dog or human +

Posted: October 1st, 2008 under World View.
Tags: cats, change, dogs, economy, eukanuba, food, food label laws, german, pets, politics, spending