Twin Cities businesses benefit as pet owners spend like parents

When Dee Kauffman noticed her black Lab Libby struggle with early onset arthritis, she turned to a remedy that she herself relies on — massage.

Heidi Hesse of Sound Hound Canine Massage in Minneapolis visits Kauffman's Woodbury home every few weeks to work on Libby.

"She loves it," Kauffman said. "You can tell when Heidi gets to a trigger point. Libby might stand up and shake her fur out and then settle back down. Heidi's great at working on those sore and sensitive spots."

The cost: $90 plus mileage per visit.

"It's a priority for our family," said Kauffman, an at-home parent whose husband is an attorney. "Some folks have other hobbies that they prioritize. For us, it's our pets."

Spending on pets has hit record levels, passing $100 billion in 2020 for the first time, according to the American Pet Products Association. Preliminary data for 2021 shows a 10% increase, said Andrew Darmohraj, the association's chief operating officer.

Even before the pandemic fueled demand for pet products and services, the role of the household dog or cat has evolved to pampered youngest child or treasured companion.

The pet products group's 2021 survey found that 70% of U.S. households own a pet, or 90.5 million homes. In 1988, the first year the survey was conducted, 56% of U.S. households owned a pet.

Pope Francis provoked some controversy last month when he lamented that some couples were choosing to have pets instead of raising children. He warned about declining birthrates in many countries and encouraged people to "take the risk of welcoming children."

Amanda Esler, pet products manager of Bone Marché, Lunds & Byerlys specialty pet department and store in St. Louis Park, sees buying habits reflecting how the role of a family pet has evolved, with increased sales annually.

"They're doing the same thing for their pet that they would do for their kids or any other family member," she said.

A driver of sales growth is the "premiumization and humanization of pets," Darmohraj said. "People want to buy things for their pets that are very high quality or something considered human grade," he said. "Nothing but the best for me and nothing but the best for my pet."

"The good news is the pet industry is pretty stable regardless of economic conditions," said Lindsey Campbell, business development manager and co-founder and co-founder of Teef. "More and more people treat their pets like children. They're willing to make some sacrifices so their dogs have a happy life."

Minneapolis-based Target Corp. last September started its own pet food brand, Kindfull wet and dry food and treats.

General Mills, based in Golden Valley, last year purchased a line of pet treats from Tyson Foods for $1.2 billion that includes brands like Nudges, Top Chews and True Chews. The company re-entered the pet food market for the first time in 50 years in 2018 when it purchased Blue Buffalo Pet Products Co. for $8 billion.

Meanwhile, pet care is booming for small businesses around the Twin Cities. A workforce shortage has backed up appointments at the vet. Dog trainers are busy working on puppy social skills as a new addition joins an older pooch in the house, or on easing pet anxiety when an owner goes back to the office. Grooming appointments also are harder to get.

"Pre-COVID, January or February, you could get a same-day grooming appointment," Keith Miller, owner of the four Bubbly Paws in the Twin Cities, said last month. "Now you aren't likely to get an appointment until the end of February."

"It's the trendy designer dog right now," Miller said. "They just take longer for grooming."

The average cost to groom a doodle is $90 to $110, and he recommends visits every six to eight weeks.

Miller has been adding more groomers at his locations to meet growing demand and is working on a national franchise model. His sales last year surpassed the 2019 level after a small dip in 2020 that he attributes to a seven-week pandemic shutdown.

He raised prices last month, as he does every January, but said he wasn't concerned about customers' ability to absorb them.

"You're at home more with your dog so you have your work-from-home people who think, 'Oh my gosh, my dog really stinks,' " he said.

"We don't necessarily see the hit [from inflation] like other businesses do because the people who are using us are more fortunate than others," she said.

The doggy day care business, which has been open since 2004, experienced its best year ever last year, Boe said. The business relied on the federal government's pandemic assistance to get through 2020, she said.

Dog trainer Anne Hendrickson said she was overwhelmed by demand when the pandemic began. Clients hire her to teach puppies to behave with older family dogs and at the dog park.

"I didn't see it exploding like this. I didn't expect to work seven days a week," Hendrickson said.

For Hesse of Sound Hound Canine Massage, business temporarily stalled during the pandemic's first shutdown, but it quickly recovered.

"I think it legitimizes it because you have a lot of people saying, 'You get to pet dogs for a living,' and there's a lot more to it," she said.

Kauffman said she sees the difference massage makes for her lab. Libby took to massage easily after watching Buddy, the family's late golden retriever, getting them. The family was convinced that Buddy's quality of life and longevity improved, so they pursued the same path for Libby as she ages.