Soon Small Dogs Will Supplant The Human Race

As you may have heard and applauded, American women between the ages of 15 and 29 are not having nearly as many babies as they did even just seven years ago (10% drop between 2007 and 2012). MEANWHILE, as you may have also noticed, and may have also applauded, tiny dog ownership is on the rise. Roberto Ferdman at Quartz, along with a few market researchers, also men, think the two might be linked:

Meanwhile, the ownership of small dogs — that is, pets weighing no more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) — is doing just the opposite. Americans have been buying more and more small dogs each year since 1999. The population of little canines more than doubled in the US over that period, and is only projected to continue upwards, according to data from market research firm Euromonitor…

It could just be a coincidence that Americans are birthing fewer babies at the same time as they’re buying a lot more little dogs. But there’s pretty good reason to believe it isn’t, Damian Shore, an analyst at market-research firm Euromonitor, told Quartz. “There’s definitely some replacement happening there,” he said.

Thanks Damian Shore, but as much as I want to talk about my friend who carries her dog in a Baby Bjorn and keeps wondering why guys don’t hit on her at the dog park (and boy, do I), my guess is the tiny dog trend has less to do with repressed baby craving and more to do with tiny apartments and/or Paris Hilton. Quartz mentions this, too: “Fashion trends aside, small dogs are also emblematic of a national migration to cities, where big dogs are harder to keep. Nearly 80% of Americans live in urban areas,” but the market researchers, dollar signs in their eyes, are having none of it.

More importantly, at the park on Saturday I saw a woman walking two rabbits on leashes. They were very soft. That is all.

Photo: Andrea Arden

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