Dusty starts making noise, scrubbing his face and sneezing every morning at 6:30 because he knows it's time to start the day. He doesn't care that it is summer and that roommate Kassidy McCowen would really like to sleep in just one day. "Dusty, please just be still and I'll get you breakfast in a little while and we'll do chores together," McCowen says.
A junior at Fremont High School, McCowen is best friends with a sheltie named Dusty. The two share a bedroom complete with two beds in coordinating colors of blue and brown. Dusty was rescued from the Ogden Animal Shelter when Kassidy was 8 years old. McCowen has taught the sheltie to sit, play fetch, get the paper and jump over things. He loves going camping with her family, getting his leash and bowl ready himself.
"Dusty is very smart and he knows our daily routine," McCowen says. "He lets me know when I've left something out." She adds, "Dusty also likes baby animals -- he will sit and watch them, as if protecting them. I think it's very sweet."
To anthropomorphize is to attribute human feelings to things that are not human. Those of us who have pets do this all the time. Our pets share so many aspects of our lives and their behavior does oftentimes seem almost human. We carry on conversations with them, buy them things and get excited to see their happy faces after a long day away from home.
"I talk to my dog like she is a human all the time," says Preston Doyle, a freshman at Morgan Junior High. Nugget is a 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier and Doyle says he talks to the dog about his problems, having conversations with her. Nugget usually lies down next to Doyle and seems to listen, he says.
"Some people make fun of me because I talk to my animals. I think it's perfectly fine. I am their friend," Doyle said. Pampered pooches? Pets outnumber people in the United States by about 60 million, with furry, feathered and scaly inhabitants numbering about 360 million, according to the pet industry.
The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reports that from 1994 through 2004, the amount of money spent on pet food, supplies, veterinary visits and medicines more than doubled, from $17 billion to $34.2 billion. In 2005 alone, $36.3 billion was spent. Pet owners are spending larger percentages on services such as massage therapy, spa treatments, clothing and gourmet food.
Others indulge their four-legged friends with designer doggie duds, "blinged-out" collars, and fancy padded, raised and heated beds. The association's National Pet Owners Survey found 27 percent of dog owners and 13 percent of cat owners buy their pets birthday presents, and 55 percent of dog owners and 37 percent of cat owners buy their pets holiday presents.
"I see people treat their pets as humans all the time. It's an everyday occurrence," says Cindy Jenson, manager of the Riverdale Petco. Her store sells about five to seven pet outfits a day, she says. Prices range from $5 up to $20.
"Some people come into the store and buy 10 outfits for their pet. It's crazy to see how much they love them," said Jenson. Camille Wagstaff, a groomer at PetSmart in Riverdale, has cucumber bathing supplies and cologne for pets so they leave the salon looking stylish and smelling fresh as a daisy.Pets as people.
Why do humans dote on pets to the tune of billions of dollars a year? Pet owners report it's because of the bond with their animals, which they may refer to as a best friend, a companion or a member of their family. Many people feel animals give them unconditional and unrestricted love.
Young couples may decide to get a pet before starting a family, as sort of a trial run for children. Elderly people oftentimes will get a small pet after losing a loved one. Some people begin to act as if the pet is a child, giving it high-pitched sweet talk or lots of toys.
"People bring dogs in strollers all the time," Wagstaff says. "They talk to them like they are babies a lot too. There is one lady who brings her dog in a stroller and she puts bows in her hair. She is always going crazy over her dog. It's neat to see."
A lot of smaller dogs who come to the store have clothes on; the owners say it's because they are cold, says Wagstaff. Megan Parker says her aunt has a miniature Yorkie named Molly. "Molly has her own little couch and bed," said Parker, a junior at Fremont High. "Every time my family goes over to eat, my aunt always puts down a plate with a tiny amount of food on it for Molly."
Her aunt says that she doesn't want Molly to feel bad, Parker says. "They treat their dogs like little kids," Parker said. "Everything they want they get." A capital 'P' Alyssa Gonzalez, a senior at Fremont High, has matching bowls, beds and clothing for her sheltie Romeo.
"What's so cool about this is that it also matches my bedroom colors," she says.And Gonzalez also has a calico cat. "My cat, Taffey, is a princess with a capital 'P.' She has the diamond-studded pink collar with matching pink-heart name tag and must drink out of the sink faucet in the bathroom!" says Gonzalez. For the most part.
The animals seem oblivious to all these indulgences, although sometimes their intense little personalities appear to match the stylish accessories. It is likely that we dress our pets for our own amusement. Do they know that we think they look cool when wearing tricked-out eyeshades or matching holiday garb? Perhaps, but then again, they chase their own tails.