Pandemic spurs boom in US pet ownership

"WOOF'' is coming to Wall Street.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of Americans to stay at home and that has led to soaring pet adoptions and purchases, especially for dogs, and a boom in products and services from pet food and dog leashes to dog diapers and veterinarian services.

Pet product retailer Petco with 1,470 stores across the country is seeking to capitalize on the momentum and registered to go public with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It will trade on the tech-heavy Nasdaq under the ticker "WOOF".

In its filing, Petco cited figures predicting that US pet ownership will rise 4 percent this year, creating an estimated $4 billion in annual demand for pet products and services. In the first 10 months of 2020, Petco said its sales hit $3.58 billion, up 9 percent from the same period last year, the company said in the filing.

"Particularly during these challenging times, pets are an important source of comfort and joy," Ron Coughlin, Petco's CEO, said in a letter in the filing. "Studies show that over 3.3 million pets entered US households this year alone."

Shares of Chewy, PetSmart's online business that went public more than a year ago, have climbed nearly 200 percent in 2020, the company said. Its market capitalization is nearly $30 billion, according to MarketWatch.

In 2019, $95.7 billion was spent on pets in the US, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA). This year the association projects that will grow to $99 billion. More than $68 billion — close to 70 percent — of pet spending will go to pet food and treats as well as veterinary care and products in 2020, according to the APPA.

Twenty percent of respondents to a Nielsen survey in July said they adopted one or more dogs or cats between March and June, when the pandemic was first hitting the US, up from less than 5 percent over the same time last year.

Dogs are present in 63.4 million, or 53 percent of all US households, and now they are the most desired animal, say rescue shelters, pet stores and breeders. Dog-leash sales increased to $44.6 million, up 13 percent for the 24-week period ending Aug 15, according to Nielsen. Sales of dog diapers have increased to $24 million for the 24 weeks ending Aug 15, up 202 percent from the same period last year, Nielsen said.

There were more people adopting puppies and so there were more people doing house-training," Pam Runquist, executive director of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, told USA Today.

"I think also, in places like New York City, people were not wanting to go outside and were utilizing those methods."

Average daily revenue at vet practices increased more than 14 percent from July 1 through the last week of August compared with the same period last year, according to vet industry tracker VetSuccess.

And with the latest surge in coronavirus cases, the American Veterinary Medical Association says about 80 percent of veterinary clinics it surveyed now provide curbside care; two-thirds offer contactless payment; and more than a third now offer telemedicine as an option.

Pet medical insurance provider Trupanion also reported 744,727 enrolled pets as of June 30, an increase of 29 percent from the same time last year.

While more pets are finding a new home, the US Humane Society says an estimated 10 million of them could be displaced in the coming months. Pet owners sick with COVID-19 have had to surrender dogs and cats at shelters, according to the Humane Society.

It also said it expects "a significant spike in surrenders as eviction and foreclosure protections expire and pet owners struggle to find affordable pet-inclusive housing". And shelter directors are worried that as Americans return to work there could be an increase in dogs being abandoned.

The Humane Society has established a COVID-19 relief fund to help keep pets and owners together and said it has distributed more than $1 million to animal shelters, pet-rescue groups and horse-rescue organizations across 48 states.

Shelter euthanasia is down 43 percent because of decreased intake due to an increase in the percentage of pets being adopted from January to June this year, according to Shelter Animals Count, a nonprofit that provides data on shelter animals. The community-adoption rate for pets is 73 percent during the period, up from 64 percent last year, the organization said.

Fraudsters also have tried to cash in on the canine craze. They try to sell dogs online without a would-be owner meeting the pet and then keep demanding payment for various services to complete the transaction.

"The victim stays latched into this until they catch on and stop sending money or they run out of money," said John Breyault, vice-president at the National Consumers League, a nonprofit consumers organization.

A pet-fraud watchdog, PetScams.com, reported a spike in internet traffic to its website in recent months.

Agencies contributed to this story.