Meet The New Pet Parent

The other week, I listened in on a DVM360 Webinar about new pet acquisition during Covid-19. Like so many in the world of pet care, we’ve seen an influx of Pandemic Puppies and Kovid-19 Kitties. We’ve gotten to know many of these new pets and many of the new pet parents, but the Pet Camp lobby or curbside pickup/drop off is not the best place for in depth demographic research about these new pet parents. Thankfully, DVM360 and the folks at MARC Research were there to help us.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

  • Of those who “acquired” a new pet during the pandemic, 53% are new pet parents and 47% are experienced pet parents.
  • Adopted pets were mostly dogs (47%,) followed by cats (38%) and a lucky 15% of pet parents adopted both a dog and a cat!
  • While 29% of the adopted animals came from a shelter/rescue, a full 24% came from a family member or friend who sadly needed to re-home their pet.
  • Experienced pet parents remain female, and trend mature.
  • New pet parents, in contrast, are:
    • Male
    • Younger (between 18 and 34)
    • Single
    • Higher education levels and higher income

Most importantly, a full 84% of pet parents are extremely happy with the pet that they adopted! This is great news and will hopefully calm some of the fears that there will be a massive pet “return” when folks go back to work and school.
If you are a new pet parent or an experienced pet parent with questions about your new dog or cat, please give us a call and chat with one of the Cat Safari, Main Campground or Canine Enrichment Counselors and, of course, congratulations on your new pet!

Pet Camp has been providing the most award winning pet care in San Francisco since 1997.  If you are a new pet parent who questions about the care of your dog or cat give us a call and chat with one of the counselors.  We would be thrilled to discuss our overnight care for dogs or cats, doggie day care, bathing, pet transportation or dog training.