The Rise of the Spoiled Pet Era

I don't think people got crazy about their pets these last few years... We just finally stopped pretending we weren't.

Somewhere along the way, the dog stopped being "just the dog." He became the reason the place we live in got chosen (gotta have a yard!), the family password, the one whose birthday somehow has a cake now. And nobody's embarrassed about it anymore - thats the part that actually changed.

Some people are choosing pets instead of kids. Plenty are doing both at once, which sounds like "beautiful chaos," if you ask me. There are empty-nesters whose house got quiet and people who wanted children and got a whole different story instead. The reasons are all over the place - but the feeling underneath is all the same one. The pet is family. And the people who love them that way aren't apologizing, they're proud of it!

The world we once knew is slowly catching up. There are pet bakeries now! Pet Hotels NICER than the places I've stayed at! People who will spend on good food and the vet insurance plan without blinking - and yet, the collar still looked like it came from a gas station.

That's the gap I kept staring at. If we're going to spoil them - and we are - the things should be worthy of how we actually feel.

Because for a lot of us, it's the most uncomplicated love we've got.