Christmas for Pets

From USAToday:

The season of giving inevitably prompts pet lovers (53% of dog owners and 38% of cat owners) to gift their animals, often lavishly, says a survey by the American Pet Products Association.

Are some people over-the-top — in an unhealthy way — about their animals? Probably, says Waco, Texas, psychologist Julia Becker. But the number, she believes, is extremely small.

There may be a problem if a person:

-Perpetually neglects other relationships to give excessive time and attention to pets.

-Uses pets as an excuse to get out of doing other activities.

The most common issue:

People who insist on taking badly behaved or ill-trained pets to inappropriate places where they’re not welcome. But that’s not generally a sign of mania; that’s self-absorption, probably evident in non-pet-related actions. “It’s always unfortunate when people aren’t respectful of others,” says Becker, especially when it might fuel negative stereotypes about pet owners.

It also prompts the question: Is there something, well, weird about that?

According to a Kelton Research survey commissioned by Milo’s Kitchen pet treats:

•81% regard their pets as full members of the family.

•58% call themselves their pets’ “mommy” or “daddy.”

•77% buy pets birthday gifts.

•More than half say they talk about pets more than politics or sex.

Well, grinches, here’s what mental health professionals have to say about all this pet-loving goofiness: The blatant puppy love much of America is displaying does not spell the end of society as we know it, and the pet-obsessed are not pathetically off-kilter humans in need of intense therapy.