1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: Hey, it's West Kosova. We're taking a break to spend 2 00:00:05,240 --> 00:00:08,320 Speaker 1: Memorial Day here in the US with friends and family, 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:11,720 Speaker 1: so we wanted to share a team favorite episode you 4 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,880 Speaker 1: might have missed about the other members of our family. 5 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening. We'll be back tomorrow. Hey Vicky, 6 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,640 Speaker 1: you have two sons and two dogs, so here's a 7 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: question which of them is more expensive? 8 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:33,560 Speaker 2: The dog's food is crazy expensive, but the boys are growing, 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: so I feed them sometimes too. 10 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:46,639 Speaker 1: From Bloomberg News and iHeartRadio, it's the Big Take. I'm 11 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: West Kosova today. How much are you spending on your pet? 12 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,720 Speaker 1: When the conversation turns to pets, and at some point 13 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,120 Speaker 1: it just always does. After the phones come out and 14 00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: the photos are passed around my. 15 00:01:11,240 --> 00:01:12,880 Speaker 3: Animals and send them to you all. 16 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 4: Oh my god, how cute. 17 00:01:16,800 --> 00:01:19,760 Speaker 1: It's only a matter of time before it's all about 18 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,600 Speaker 1: how much the care and upkeep of dogs and cats costs. 19 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: That's exactly what happened when the Big Take crew was 20 00:01:27,040 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: putting together this episode. 21 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 5: My cat's son, Sylvie costs a lot when it comes 22 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 5: to diet. He's on a prescription diet because he is 23 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:43,800 Speaker 5: allergic to everything, and that food went up fourteen dollars 24 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 5: over the last ten months or so, so it used 25 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 5: to be seventy seven. Now it's ninety one dollars. 26 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,080 Speaker 1: Ninety one dollars Catherine for food. 27 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 5: Yep, and that might sound bad already, but something to 28 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 5: know about Sylvie is that he of course hates his 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,600 Speaker 5: prescription food. So I spend about dollars a month extra 30 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 5: buying things to sort of doctor up the bowl, like treats, 31 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 5: beef toppings. We're trying a new beef broth this week. 32 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,800 Speaker 6: Funnily enough, Catherine, my cat too has a broth obsession. 33 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 6: So Wednesday is my cat. She's a Persian cat. She 34 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 6: has the classic grumpy flat face. Basically, I have to 35 00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 6: give her this thing called lysine. It's like an immune support. 36 00:02:24,680 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 6: So what I do is I take a little scoop 37 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,399 Speaker 6: of lyceing and I mix it into the broth. And 38 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 6: the broths are not cheap. It's a liquid and it 39 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,960 Speaker 6: has solids. She doesn't eat the solids, and I know 40 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 6: that's what keeps the cost up. 41 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:43,240 Speaker 1: Wow, I lucked out. 42 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 7: I have a three legged rescue dog named Igy. She's 43 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 7: a little angel. She's not picky at all food wise. 44 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:52,920 Speaker 7: She'll eat whatever you put in front of her. But 45 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 7: that has also gotten us into trouble because somehow, three 46 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:58,360 Speaker 7: legged or not, she managed to get up on the 47 00:02:58,360 --> 00:03:01,240 Speaker 7: counter while we were gone one day and I had 48 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:04,640 Speaker 7: just bought a bag of currents to try on my oatmeal. 49 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 7: I was excited. I was like, dried food on the oatmeal. Loo, 50 00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 7: let me go. And we come back home from dinner, 51 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:11,600 Speaker 7: my partner and I and lo and behold there are 52 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:15,480 Speaker 7: currents spread across the couch. She ate the whole bag. 53 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,800 Speaker 7: It's roughly a cup. First we're like, oh haha, how quirky. 54 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:19,800 Speaker 1: Then we call. 55 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 7: There's apparently a pet poison hotline, so right there, seventy 56 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 7: five right off the bat. So we get on the 57 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,119 Speaker 7: phone and the person goes, okay, there are two options here. 58 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 7: One totally harmless, totally fine, option two. Three of them 59 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 7: will poison her. So then we had to go to 60 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 7: the emergency vet, which up front, I think I had 61 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,720 Speaker 7: to put something like twenty five hundred dollars on my 62 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 7: card for them to even do anything. Luckily ended up 63 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 7: only being thirteen hundred, so a bargain. 64 00:03:46,320 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 2: Yeah, I will say I've also had my poor pop 65 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,360 Speaker 2: astro who ate something. We still don't know what it was, 66 00:03:52,440 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 2: but yeah, trip to the emergency vet and you know, 67 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,000 Speaker 2: stomach X rays and everything out the gate. It was 68 00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 2: a good fifteen hundred at least, and I did have 69 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 2: pet insurance so that covered some of it, but that 70 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 2: pet insurance does not cover the three hundred dollars a 71 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 2: year bill just to get a wellness check. When I 72 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 2: adopted my dog Astro, it was required by the adoption 73 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 2: agency that I get pet insurance for him. So it 74 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 2: started off thirty five bucks a month, but then he 75 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:22,600 Speaker 2: had that whole issue where he. 76 00:04:22,760 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 3: Ate something we weren't sure what it was. 77 00:04:24,520 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 2: After that, the monthly premium went way up and it's 78 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:28,640 Speaker 2: almost double. 79 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:30,400 Speaker 3: So it's great if you don't need it. 80 00:04:30,839 --> 00:04:34,160 Speaker 1: Okay, what's the strangest pet expense you've come across. 81 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 6: My best friend has an exotic short hair cat named 82 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 6: Pistachio Muffin, and he, much like my beloved persian Wednesday, 83 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 6: has a flat face. One vet said that he had 84 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 6: never seen nostrils on a cat so small, and those 85 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 6: small nostrils led to breathing issues, respiratory issues, and it 86 00:04:58,640 --> 00:05:02,360 Speaker 6: was just a bad time for a little Pistachio. So 87 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,240 Speaker 6: the vet suggested you can get the nostrils widened. There 88 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,160 Speaker 6: are surgeons that will do this, a cat nose job, 89 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,719 Speaker 6: a cat knows job. Of course, the only surgeon was 90 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 6: on the upper east side, and for this nostril widening 91 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 6: surgery it was twelve hundred dollars. 92 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:24,440 Speaker 1: So, given how much all of your dogs and cats 93 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: are draining your bank accounts, do you have any regrets? 94 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: Would you give them up? Would you not get them 95 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,480 Speaker 1: if you knew what you were in for? Never? 96 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 3: They bring me so much joy it's worth every cent. 97 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 6: I used to think that the amount of money people 98 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,359 Speaker 6: spent on their pets was absurd until I adopted Wednesday, 99 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,720 Speaker 6: and now I will gladly go into massive debt to 100 00:05:48,080 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 6: keep her happy and healthy. 101 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:52,080 Speaker 7: Before adopting I Gi, my partner and I sat down 102 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,320 Speaker 7: and had a budgeting conversation and we kind of thought 103 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 7: we had an idea of what it would be and 104 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 7: what our backup plan was should the worst happen. And 105 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 7: then the current happened and we were like, oh, now 106 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 7: we get it, but no, wouldn't give her a would 107 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 7: keep her in a heartbeat. I will just never buy 108 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:09,119 Speaker 7: Currents again. 109 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 5: I die for Sylvie. 110 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:16,600 Speaker 1: Hands down reporters Knaka Katan and Brendan Case wondered, if 111 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,840 Speaker 1: each of us is spending so much on our pet 112 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: how much are we all spending? They set out to 113 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: put a number on what they call the global pet economy. 114 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:31,479 Speaker 8: So the worldwide pet economy right now is well north 115 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,599 Speaker 8: of three hundred billion dollars, and the next seven years 116 00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:37,600 Speaker 8: are going to be a big story about growth. Bloomberg 117 00:06:37,640 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 8: Intelligence is predicting that number is going to get up 118 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:42,920 Speaker 8: to about half a trillion dollars, very close to five 119 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 8: hundred billion dollars. And you've got the US that is 120 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,280 Speaker 8: accounting for not quite half, but almost half of the total. 121 00:06:51,600 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 8: But you've also got growth in Europe, and you've got 122 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 8: the fastest growth in the rest of the world, particularly 123 00:06:57,040 --> 00:07:00,120 Speaker 8: emerging markets. And so you've got a global trend and 124 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,960 Speaker 8: with certainly more pets because of the pandemic, and especially 125 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 8: in the US, there was an uptick in the population. 126 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 8: And for each pet, you've got rising average spending because 127 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 8: of this new collection of services, healthcare and premium products 128 00:07:17,360 --> 00:07:18,600 Speaker 8: that pet owners can buy. 129 00:07:18,640 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 4: Now. 130 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:21,120 Speaker 1: I remember when I was a kid. Of course people 131 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: had pets, but they weren't taking them to the doctor 132 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: for MRIs and doing a lot of these really intensive 133 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: medical treatments, buying them fancy gourmet food. When did all 134 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: this start to become a really big thing. 135 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:41,360 Speaker 9: It's been growing rapidly for a long time. It was 136 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:44,840 Speaker 9: recession proof during two thousand and seven, eight and nine. 137 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 9: It was continuing to grow through that. But then I 138 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 9: think maybe in the last ten or thirteen years is 139 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 9: when the drug companies that we interviewed started to notice 140 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,760 Speaker 9: this is huge. We have this great anecdote from Zoetis, 141 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 9: which is the largest pet healthcare company, saying that their 142 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 9: animal livestock portion of their pet business used to be 143 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,680 Speaker 9: sixty four percent and the rest was pets and the 144 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,400 Speaker 9: past ten years that has completely flipped to the exact opposite. 145 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: And why is that? Why are people now just spending 146 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,560 Speaker 1: more on their pets than they did before. 147 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,840 Speaker 9: You just see pets becoming part of the household. They're 148 00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 9: treated as one of the family more and more. Then 149 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 9: you have the pandemic where there was just a huge 150 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 9: uptick in pet adoptions, and then add sort of the 151 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 9: lifestyle of the youngest generations gen Z and millennials that 152 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 9: are also kind of contributing to more spending. And they 153 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 9: admit they're spending more on their pets than ever before, 154 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,559 Speaker 9: just you know, before maybe starting families. 155 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 4: That's a really big part of the story. 156 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 8: You know, you get gen z, you get millennials, and 157 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 8: statistically they're starting families a little later. And if you 158 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,120 Speaker 8: look at the surveys, they're the ones who are out 159 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,680 Speaker 8: there saying much more than other generations that you know, yes, 160 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 8: pets are very much part of the family. They buy 161 00:09:07,559 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 8: into the whole sort of trend towards humanization, and they 162 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 8: are willing to spend pretty heavily on their cats and 163 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 8: dogs and other pets. 164 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:23,439 Speaker 1: Brandon, you mentioned earlier that in the US especially, there 165 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: was this uptick in people getting pets during the pandemic. 166 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:30,280 Speaker 1: How big an increase was it. 167 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:32,480 Speaker 8: The increase in pet ownership was one of the big 168 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 8: stories in the early stages of the pandemic, And what 169 00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 8: you end up with three years down the line is 170 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 8: that Morgan Stanley estimates that there are about five million 171 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,240 Speaker 8: more pets in the US as of the middle of 172 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:48,560 Speaker 8: last year compared with twenty nineteen. That's an increase of 173 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 8: about four percent. So you've got a rising population of 174 00:09:52,360 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 8: companion animals. But it's not just that it's also rising 175 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 8: spending on each pet. So to give you an idea 176 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:04,120 Speaker 8: of a members, the Labor Department calculates that household pet 177 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:09,320 Speaker 8: spending went up about thirteen percent as of twenty twenty 178 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 8: one from twenty nineteen. That thirteen percent increase is not 179 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:16,760 Speaker 8: quite twice the average rate of inflation during that. 180 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:18,280 Speaker 4: Period, but it's close. 181 00:10:19,160 --> 00:10:21,199 Speaker 8: And so if you drill down into dollar terms, what 182 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 8: you see is that, according to Bloomberg Intelligence, it costs 183 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,400 Speaker 8: about fifteen hundred dollars to own a dog that's per 184 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 8: year in the US, and it costs close to one 185 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 8: thousand dollars to own a cat. 186 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,360 Speaker 9: So those numbers, maybe, on average they're right, But everyone 187 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 9: we spoke with for this article, and everyone I know, 188 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:42,600 Speaker 9: spends more than that. So, for example, we spoke with 189 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:47,360 Speaker 9: one woman, Susan Genteel. She's a public school teacher who 190 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:52,319 Speaker 9: spent about eight thousand dollars or more on her dog, Elvis, 191 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 9: because sadly, he had a heart condition. She was spending 192 00:10:55,720 --> 00:11:00,520 Speaker 9: on echo cardiograms, she was spending on hyperbaric chain you know, 193 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,280 Speaker 9: she's spending a lot of money to keep her dog healthy. 194 00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 9: This is another part of what's really taking pet ownership 195 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 9: into the next level, you know, the next big boom, 196 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:13,240 Speaker 9: which is the cost of health care, the cost of 197 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,160 Speaker 9: vet services, the fact that a lot of the medicine 198 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 9: innovation that you're seeing in the human health sector are 199 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 9: transferring into the animal health sector. 200 00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: More with Brendan and Naka when we come back. Knaka, 201 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,960 Speaker 1: before the break, you were talking about how more and 202 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:42,839 Speaker 1: more expensive medical procedures for pets are becoming the norm. Now, 203 00:11:43,559 --> 00:11:47,480 Speaker 1: what are some of these procedures that people are having 204 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:49,960 Speaker 1: done on their animals that they just didn't do in 205 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 1: past years. 206 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,520 Speaker 9: I mentioned echo cardiograms. There are also a ton of 207 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,360 Speaker 9: innovative medicines that have just been approved for these sort 208 00:11:59,400 --> 00:12:01,839 Speaker 9: of big farms companies. They sort of have their roots 209 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:04,000 Speaker 9: in big pharma, and then some of them spun off 210 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,360 Speaker 9: and became just focused on pets. So you could be 211 00:12:07,400 --> 00:12:13,560 Speaker 9: treated for osteoarthritis using monoclonal antibodies, which was used for example, 212 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 9: to fight COVID. And then there are top line diabetes 213 00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,200 Speaker 9: drugs that you can find now used for pets. And 214 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 9: in the case that we spoke with the woman whose 215 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 9: dog had a heart condition, she was telling us that 216 00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:31,760 Speaker 9: she used the same medication for her dog, Elvis, that 217 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:34,120 Speaker 9: her father took, so she would give half a pill 218 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,400 Speaker 9: to Elvis and her dad would take a full pill. 219 00:12:36,800 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 4: It's not just medicine. 220 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,760 Speaker 8: It's also a lot more scans like the electrocardiogram I 221 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 8: was talking about. Another example is an MRI. One of 222 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 8: the people we talked to said that, you know, time 223 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:51,360 Speaker 8: was maybe ten, fifteen, twenty years ago. If you lived 224 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 8: near a sort of a teaching hospital veterinary medicine, then yeah, 225 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,840 Speaker 8: you could probably get an MRI, but not many people did. 226 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:03,400 Speaker 8: Now that's a service that you can essentially walk in 227 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 8: and get. The downside is that it's going to set 228 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 8: you back, you know, two thousand dollars or more. 229 00:13:08,840 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: What would it happened to a dog like Elvis five 230 00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:15,400 Speaker 1: years ago, ten years ago? Was there any kind of 231 00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:18,440 Speaker 1: treatment like this, let alone the kind of diagnostics that 232 00:13:18,480 --> 00:13:21,280 Speaker 1: are very common for pets these days, you know. 233 00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 8: For a dog like Elvis and for a lot of 234 00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,040 Speaker 8: pets out there, the sad answer is probably they would 235 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 8: have died earlier. And I think that you have elements 236 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:33,680 Speaker 8: of some people being more willing to spend a lot 237 00:13:33,920 --> 00:13:38,719 Speaker 8: on advanced treatments. You also have a situation where these 238 00:13:38,760 --> 00:13:41,679 Speaker 8: advanced treatments are out there, and yes, the providers do 239 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,800 Speaker 8: want to you know, use the expensive equipment to provide 240 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 8: the best service they can't. If you talk with some vets, 241 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 8: I think that one lesson you come away with is 242 00:13:51,640 --> 00:13:53,840 Speaker 8: that they, you know, they do have the issue of 243 00:13:53,880 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 8: affordability in mind. 244 00:13:56,440 --> 00:13:58,439 Speaker 4: It's something that they struggle with as well. 245 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:02,200 Speaker 8: But the fact remains that there certainly are people out there, 246 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 8: you know, pet owners who are demanding those services. And 247 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:11,360 Speaker 8: so you've got the veterinary medicine industry that is, you know, 248 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,719 Speaker 8: adjusting to provide them and take advantage of a lot 249 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:16,760 Speaker 8: of the technology that they can bring to bear. 250 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:20,840 Speaker 9: And there are lots of surveys about just how close 251 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 9: families feel to their pets. Above ninety percent feel that 252 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 9: their pets are part of their family or one of 253 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 9: their children. Almost above eighty percent, eighty five percent or 254 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 9: so say they would spend any amount of money to 255 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 9: care for their pets no matter what. And I think 256 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 9: that was one of the most surprising things you mentioned, Wes, 257 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:41,920 Speaker 9: is just how much people are willing to spend and 258 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 9: with the available services and diagnostics and drugs out there, 259 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 9: they can do that now. 260 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:48,720 Speaker 3: And it's interesting. 261 00:14:48,760 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 9: What I also found a lot of times people almost 262 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:53,720 Speaker 9: underestimate how much they've spent, and when you ask them 263 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 9: to itemize it, it's a lot higher than they expected. 264 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,800 Speaker 8: Yeah, well, you know, Elvis himself had a nine hundred 265 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 8: dollars or electrocardiogram an MRI goes for two thousand dollars 266 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,880 Speaker 8: or more. And that's according to a group called the 267 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 8: Pet Fund that exists to try to help people pay 268 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 8: for care that they can't afford on their own. And 269 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 8: if you talk with them, they say that it used 270 00:15:17,640 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 8: to be once in a blue mood, you would see 271 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 8: a ten thousand dollars price tag for total care of 272 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 8: an animal having a serious health problem that we're told 273 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:32,920 Speaker 8: is becoming increasingly common. And in fact, the people running 274 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 8: the Pet Fund have seen bills that range as high 275 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,200 Speaker 8: as twenty thousand or thirty thousand. 276 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:42,560 Speaker 9: Right we have in our story the largest insurance claim 277 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 9: was it fifty thousand dollars for a dog that was 278 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:47,520 Speaker 9: run over in Brooklyn. 279 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,760 Speaker 1: And you mentioned insurance, which is another big component in 280 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:54,320 Speaker 1: this is that a lot of people, in order to 281 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 1: pay for this, or in anticipation of having an illness 282 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:01,680 Speaker 1: that could cost a lot money, are buying insurance. How 283 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,320 Speaker 1: does that work? How does pet insurance work? 284 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 9: So there's you know, an annual premium and then the 285 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 9: deductibles and then the out of pocket and we actually 286 00:16:12,760 --> 00:16:16,000 Speaker 9: have Bloomberg Intelligence doing some of the math coming up 287 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:19,920 Speaker 9: with an average number. So if a cancer treatment can 288 00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:23,520 Speaker 9: cost eight thousand or ten thousand dollars at the end 289 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:25,920 Speaker 9: of the year, the total expenses under insurance can be 290 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:28,200 Speaker 9: maybe twenty seven hundred. But there are a lot of 291 00:16:28,200 --> 00:16:30,760 Speaker 9: people who do say that the premiums are very high. 292 00:16:31,440 --> 00:16:33,960 Speaker 9: In Susan Gentiel's case, she said that her dog was 293 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 9: too old at the point where she wanted to get insurance, 294 00:16:36,880 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 9: so it was too expensive. And in general, I think, 295 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:41,840 Speaker 9: you know, the entire market is about three percent of 296 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 9: pets are insured, so that actually opens things up for 297 00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:46,800 Speaker 9: huge growth in that sector. 298 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,400 Speaker 8: So the thing about pet insurance is that you do 299 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,920 Speaker 8: want to go in with your eyes open. This is 300 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 8: an industry that's bringing in about two point six billion 301 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,120 Speaker 8: dollars in annual premiums right now. That's up from a 302 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:01,960 Speaker 8: billion dollars in twenty seven. But if you look at 303 00:17:01,960 --> 00:17:04,440 Speaker 8: the numbers, you know, it really depends on the individual 304 00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:07,879 Speaker 8: case whether it's worth it. You know, the average for 305 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,399 Speaker 8: a dog if you want accident and illness coverage is 306 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:16,200 Speaker 8: almost six hundred dollars. And there are some people out 307 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 8: there who say, you know, better to take that money, 308 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:22,560 Speaker 8: set it aside for future care for the animal, and 309 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,439 Speaker 8: just pay with cash. Others obviously are deciding that they 310 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,920 Speaker 8: do want the coverage, but it'll come with a pretty 311 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 8: high deductible and so they'll still have to pay out 312 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 8: of pocket a fairly significant amount. 313 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:37,320 Speaker 1: Are we already starting to see elective procedures for pets? 314 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: You know, cosmetic surgery, things that aren't purely medical but 315 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,400 Speaker 1: are just done to, I don't know, make your dog 316 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 1: look better. 317 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,840 Speaker 8: Certainly, there's a lot of gray area, first of all. 318 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,160 Speaker 8: And then there is the world of what you might 319 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 8: call plastic surgery for animals. It's kind of a famous example, 320 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:02,800 Speaker 8: which are called neuticles. These are testicular implants for dogs 321 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,120 Speaker 8: that you can buy if you have your dog neutered, 322 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:11,520 Speaker 8: but you kind of want to have them keep the preoperation. Look, 323 00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 8: there's a market for this, okay, and a pretty good 324 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 8: one apparently. You know, this is a company that seems 325 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 8: to be doing okay for itself. There's a famous example 326 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:26,680 Speaker 8: the actor Jake Jillenhall. He was on the Tonight Show 327 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 8: and he said that he got a pair of nudicles 328 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:29,719 Speaker 8: for his German shepherd. 329 00:18:29,840 --> 00:18:34,360 Speaker 1: You should get nuticles. Do you know what those are? 330 00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:35,119 Speaker 4: I must know. 331 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 3: I could guess maybe, but they're prosthetic testicles. Anyway, long 332 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:41,639 Speaker 3: story short, he has nuticles. 333 00:18:43,080 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 9: This is not elective surgery, but it's in the realm 334 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 9: of psychological costs. We found a lot of owners I 335 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 9: spoke with put their pets on doggy Prozact because they 336 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,399 Speaker 9: had behavioral issues, anxiety, a lot of anxiety, and neighbors 337 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 9: filed complaints. You know, some pretty difficult experiences that pet 338 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,639 Speaker 9: owners say is not talked about a lot, and so 339 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 9: they had to put their dogs on prozac or put 340 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:15,440 Speaker 9: them into daycare training, and so those costs can rise 341 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,680 Speaker 9: to almost as much as you know, a heart condition. 342 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:31,199 Speaker 1: We'll be right back, Ben. We've been talking about how 343 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,639 Speaker 1: pet ownership and the amount of money people spend on 344 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: their pets are going up. But there's also the opposite happening, 345 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 1: which is a lot more people, especially who got a 346 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:44,000 Speaker 1: pet during the pandemic, are trying to return them or 347 00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:47,040 Speaker 1: finding new homes because they just can't keep up. 348 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:48,960 Speaker 4: Yeah, you are starting to see that. 349 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:53,479 Speaker 8: And what you see in the data such as it is, 350 00:19:53,600 --> 00:19:56,320 Speaker 8: because again, you know, the data here is not quite 351 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 8: as clean as with human activity. But if you look 352 00:20:01,640 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 8: at numbers compiled by a group called Shelter Animals Count, 353 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 8: you're certainly seeing an uptick in most states in what 354 00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:14,959 Speaker 8: are called pet surrenders compared with the early days of 355 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 8: the pandemic. There's an important caveat there, though, which is 356 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,959 Speaker 8: that by and large those numbers are lower than they 357 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,960 Speaker 8: were in twenty nineteen, and so it's not quite right yet, 358 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:31,760 Speaker 8: at least to say that there's a bunch of people 359 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,159 Speaker 8: who ran out and got pets during the pandemic and 360 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,480 Speaker 8: now they just can't deal with them. Certainly, that description 361 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:41,919 Speaker 8: fits the case of some people. For many others, you know, 362 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 8: I think that they're, you know, at least compared with 363 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 8: pre pandemic levels, seem able to keep their pets at 364 00:20:48,119 --> 00:20:49,280 Speaker 8: home and seem happy. 365 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,480 Speaker 9: And I think actually that's a really clear sign that 366 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,280 Speaker 9: pet owners are willing to go very far to keep 367 00:20:56,280 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 9: their pets, even if, for whatever reason it was, they 368 00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,679 Speaker 9: might want to rehome their pets. You might have the 369 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 9: numbers taking up from the start of the pandemic, but 370 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 9: we're still not at twenty nineteen levels. You know, that 371 00:21:08,960 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 9: trend toward humanization and doing whatever you can to make 372 00:21:12,520 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 9: sure your pet is healthy and happy and stays with you, 373 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:17,960 Speaker 9: that I think will continue, and that's perhaps where this 374 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 9: market will continue to head towards the half trillion target. 375 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 4: That's right. 376 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:24,560 Speaker 8: In the short term, there is a bit of a 377 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,360 Speaker 8: question mark just from the economy. There's obviously a lot 378 00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,679 Speaker 8: of economic uncertainty out there, and it is the case 379 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,600 Speaker 8: that when the economy worsens, there are more people who 380 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 8: look to rehome their pets. Whether the economy will worsen 381 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,120 Speaker 8: to that extent, whether people will react with the same 382 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:44,359 Speaker 8: historical pattern, all that remains to be seen. 383 00:21:44,960 --> 00:21:46,680 Speaker 4: But it's a big question mark. As we go through 384 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:47,760 Speaker 4: the rest of this year. 385 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:52,040 Speaker 9: We hear from the drug company saying that costs spent 386 00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 9: on healthcare are sticky, right, They're very recession resilient, and 387 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 9: so people would decide to lower their costs in some 388 00:22:00,320 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 9: other area a cheaper car or fewer clothes sooner than 389 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 9: actually taking away bending on a pet. 390 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:12,199 Speaker 1: As you're reporting on this booming industry that, as you describe, 391 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:14,359 Speaker 1: is only going to get bigger and bigger. What are 392 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 1: you looking for? What are the trends down the road 393 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:18,480 Speaker 1: that you're keeping your eye on. 394 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 9: I'm interested in how human health is trickling down into 395 00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 9: pet health, especially because it takes a lot shorter to 396 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:31,360 Speaker 9: go through the approval process FDA approval process to get 397 00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:34,639 Speaker 9: a new drug for a pet, and so eventually we 398 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 9: might see innovation first hitting the pet market before the 399 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:39,600 Speaker 9: human market. 400 00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,520 Speaker 8: Yeah, there's a lot of research out there on dog 401 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 8: aging for a number of reasons, one of which is 402 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:48,520 Speaker 8: that dogs have shorter lifespans, and so a human researcher 403 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,399 Speaker 8: can track multiple generations of dogs over the course of 404 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 8: a career. There's something called the Dog Aging Project, which 405 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 8: is based out of the University of Washington and Texas 406 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 8: A and M University. It's got forty four thousand dogs enrolled, 407 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:08,280 Speaker 8: where you know, the dog owners fill out questionnaires keep 408 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,520 Speaker 8: track of their pets health and behavior. The hope is 409 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 8: that over time they start to generate insights into how 410 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:20,800 Speaker 8: dogs age, which genes age the best. It's even conceivable 411 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:23,200 Speaker 8: that there could be some insights from that project coming 412 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:26,920 Speaker 8: into human health. And you know, there's startups out there 413 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 8: with plans to do something similar. You could see a 414 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,359 Speaker 8: number of so called anti aging drugs on the market 415 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:38,760 Speaker 8: within three four years potentially, So that's definitely one thing 416 00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,920 Speaker 8: to watch. Another thing that I keep my eye on 417 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:46,119 Speaker 8: is whether the assumption that people will keep accepting higher 418 00:23:46,160 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 8: prices in fact turns out to be right. There's a 419 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,560 Speaker 8: lot of money behind these industries, right Like Mars Incorporated, 420 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,320 Speaker 8: the candy bar Company is one of the big investors 421 00:23:55,320 --> 00:24:00,480 Speaker 8: in veterinary services. And the bet there is that umanization 422 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:08,560 Speaker 8: trend rising incomes greater supply of pricier options for pet care, 423 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:10,800 Speaker 8: you know. The bet is that those will all combine 424 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 8: and give this very robust annual average growth over the 425 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:20,119 Speaker 8: next five, seven, ten years. But there's a lot that 426 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:22,000 Speaker 8: could go wrong too, you know. It could be that 427 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,879 Speaker 8: people you know, just can't hack it, particularly in the 428 00:24:24,920 --> 00:24:28,440 Speaker 8: middle or lower income levels. Could be that demand isn't 429 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,679 Speaker 8: quite where they're expecting it to be. But right now, 430 00:24:31,920 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 8: the people putting money at risk here definitely expecting these 431 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:39,160 Speaker 8: numbers to keep rising pretty quickly in terms of spending. 432 00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,240 Speaker 1: Brendan and I think it's important for our listeners to 433 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:47,159 Speaker 1: know your bias dog or cat, cat. 434 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 8: My wife and my kids know that more of a 435 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:52,320 Speaker 8: cat person, but we do have two cats and two dogs. 436 00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 8: Our house is a bit of a zoo and we 437 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:54,720 Speaker 8: love them all. 438 00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,120 Speaker 1: And Nakha I. 439 00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,679 Speaker 9: Grew up with a dog, and it would have to 440 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:01,120 Speaker 9: be again. 441 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:05,560 Speaker 1: Now, hook Tan, Brendan Case, thanks so much for coming 442 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: on the show. 443 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:09,160 Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having us, Thanks for having us. 444 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:15,399 Speaker 1: Thanks to Rebecca Shasson, Katherine Fink, Sam Goebauer, and Vicky 445 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:19,840 Speaker 1: Bergolina for sharing their cat and dog stories. And thanks 446 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: to you for listening to us. Here The Big Take. 447 00:25:21,960 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: It's a daily podcast from Bloomberg and iHeartRadio. For more 448 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: shows from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or 449 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,320 Speaker 1: wherever you listen, and we'd love to hear from you. 450 00:25:33,680 --> 00:25:37,560 Speaker 1: Email us questions or comments to Big Take at Bloomberg 451 00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: dot net. The supervising producer of The Big Take is 452 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:46,560 Speaker 1: Vicky Bergalina. Our senior producer is Katherine Fink. Our producer 453 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:51,640 Speaker 1: is Rebecca Shasson. Our associate producer is Sam Gobauer. Philde 454 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: Garcia is our engineer. Our original music was composed by 455 00:25:56,359 --> 00:26:00,119 Speaker 1: Leo Sidrin. I'm Wes Kasova. We'll be back on MYE 456 00:26:00,200 --> 00:26:12,159 Speaker 1: day with another big take. Have a great weekend, MHM.