Real Money Brings Pets

Judged on the number of pets they own, the most avid pet owners are investors with a net worth exceeding $5 million, not including their primary residence, according to the latest Investor Pulse survey from Spectrem Group’s Millionaire Corner.

Twenty-nine percent of those investors own more than four pets, compared with just 5% of investors with less than $100,000 net worth. Women tend to own more pets than men. Five percent of women own more than four pets, compared with just 2% of men. Of investors who own pets, the largest percentage (30%) spend $500 to $999 on their pets each year.

Dogs are more popular than cats: More than two thirds (67%) of pet-owning investors have dogs, compared with the 49% who own cats.

About equal numbers of affluent pet owners got pets from a shelter or a breeder. Thirty-six percent report adopting a shelter or rescue pet, compared with one third who purchased their pet from a breeder.

About a fifth of survey participants (21%) adopted their pet from someone they know. Fourteen percent say they rescued their pet, which they found abandoned. Fewer than 10% got their companion from a chain or local pet store.

Younger affluent households surveyed were most likely to have gotten their pet from a breeder. The percentage of those who buy from breeders decreases as the age of the respondent increases, from 39% of those younger than 40, to 30% of Baby Boomers, age 51 to 60.

Shelter or rescue adoptions increased with age, from 27% of those under 40 to 41% of pet-owning respondents 61 and older.