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Demand for pets in America is boomin'. Demand for pet dogs is far outstripping supply, and the imbalance is expected to worsen as young adults consider dog ownership a normal life stage (before kids), dog breeders face increasing regulation and the US cracks down on illegal dog imports.
Recently, the CDC issued a temporary suspension of the importation of dogs from more than 100 countries at high risk for rabies. The Healthy Dog Importation Act, a bipartisan bill under consideration, would require that every dog coming to the US have a health certificate by a properly licensed veterinarian.
While the US imports more than 1 million dogs a year, the annual demand for dogs, imported or not, is 8 million. Pet ownership has increased from an estimated 67% of US households that own a pet to an estimated 70% over the last two years, according to a survey by American Pet Products Association.
Millennials are the largest cohort of pet owners, at 32%, followed by Boomers at 27% and Gen X at 24%.
Short Squeez Takeaway: With the immeasurable mental health benefits of pet ownership, the dearth of available dogs is likely to worsen. Many people bored in the pandemic got a dog or a cat and just cannot get enough of their animals (going off the number of pet pics we've seen on the gram lately). People with one dog want another, people with one cat want a second one. (basically an Amazon stock)
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