“它知道我在盯著它看呢。”一名年輕女子指著她面前眾多狗狗中的一只，大聲驚呼。

這話沒錯。那只吉娃娃和另外十幾只毛茸茸的小狗待在一個房間。別的狗都在玩耍打鬧，一只4磅重（約1.8公斤）的博美犬最為活躍，向幾只塊頭有它兩倍大的狗身上猛撲，然后迅速逃命。那只吉娃娃卻安靜地坐在一邊，透過玻璃窗注視著它的主人，即使狂躁的博美犬從身前跑過時，它也目不轉睛。

“我得走了，這樣它就可以玩得開心些。”她朝吉娃娃的方向揮揮手，離開了紐約寵物狗水療賓館。當時是上午10點半，看來這又是一個悶熱潮濕的夏日。

我們不清楚這只吉娃娃是否開心——它看上去很順從，有點流口水。主人離開后，它開始和其他狗交流，嗅了嗅幾只狗的屁股，也得到了對方的回應。雖然外出工作時，主人完全可以把這只嬌小的吉娃娃留在公寓里，但每周她還是會送它去一次水療賓館，跟其他狗一起享受“社交”生活。吉娃娃之類的狗在水療賓館玩4個小時的優惠價是31美元，全天收費43美元。

“He sees me watching him,” a young woman says, motioning to one of the many dogs in front of her.

She’s right. The Chihuahua is in a room with a couple dozen furry companions. But while the others play and fight — a puffy four-pound Pomeranian is causing most of the drama, pouncing on dogs twice its size and then running for its life — the Chihuahua sits, watching his owner through the glass. He doesn’t break eye contact, even as the manic Pomeranian hurdles past.

“I need to leave, so he can enjoy himself,” she says, waving in his direction before exiting the New York Dog Spa and Hotel into what is, at 10:30 a.m., already shaping up to be a muggy summer day.

While it’s unclear whether the Chihuahua is enjoying himself — he looks resigned and a little drooly — he interacts with the other dogs once his owner is gone, sniffing a few rear ends and getting sniffed in return. Although small enough to be left in the apartment while she’s at work, he’s dropped off here once a week, so he can “socialize” with other dogs. For a dog his size, the privilege costs $31 for up to 4 hours, and $43 for the entire day.

紐約寵物狗水療賓館的服務和設施看上去都是為人類孩子設計的，比如花生醬熏肉、芝士通心粉和蘋果派風味的餐食，以及諸如“游戲約會”這類集體活動。在該賓館市場營銷經理達娜·范帕梅倫看來，這沒什么不正常的。談到賓館的寄宿服務，她說：“這就跟看孩子一樣。”

的確，這里是紐約，向來以高端昂貴的便利設施聞名。跟舊金山、洛杉磯等大都市一樣，紐約高端寵物服務市場的體量異常龐大。然而，和許多在沿海地區興起后，向內地蔓延的潮流一樣，這類服務目前還沒有發展到席卷全美的程度。

美國人目前的寵物消費水平之高前所未有。美國寵物商品協會（APPA）預計，今年寵物行業的產值將達到630億美元，較2010年增長25%以上。在這一段時期，寵物主人的人口占比相對穩定，6年來僅略增3%。今天，約有65%的美國家庭養寵物。這意味著，寵物主人的平均消費增長速度遠遠超過了寵物數量的增速。

“寵物的平均消費，絕對讓你大吃一驚。”北卡羅來納州西卡羅來納大學心理學教授哈羅德·赫爾佐格如是說。他所指的消費，是指從美甲、面部護理、健身記錄、不含麥麩的零食、寵物日托到自動飲水機等一大批奢侈類產品和服務。

市場研究公司Packaged Facts分析師喬治·普羅同意赫爾佐格的看法。普羅說：“你自己和孩子享受了什么，你的寵物就有可能享受什么。”這意味著，主人會通過給狗、貓、荷蘭豬等寵物買東西表現自己的個性，不管它是《星球大戰》周邊產品、主題T恤，還是精美的萬圣節服裝。

在食品行業，這種心理催生了一批既刺激人味蕾又緩解健康擔憂的寵物食品。高端寵物食品市場去年銷售收入達230億美元，亦步亦趨地緊跟人類食品的健康潮流。隨便逛一家高端寵物食品店，你都會發現貨架上擺滿非轉基因食品、有機食品、無谷物食品、粗糧、原始人飲食法提倡的食物，可以滿足任何一種飲食流派的選擇。現在市面上的狗糧也有了蟹肉卷、綠色蔬菜汁和披薩餅皮等多種口味。

普羅說： “一聽到這些產品的名字，你就覺得好吃。” 主流廣告和傳媒業反映，并強化了這種像營銷人類食品一樣銷售狗食的趨勢。（《紐約時報》最近就發表了一篇題為《狗也是人》的專欄文章。）

“我把它看成一位上了年紀的女士，特別希望她回歸以前的社交生活，”一位男士這么談自己十歲的寵物狗。這一幕出自寵物研究護理機構普瑞納旗下高端狗類營養產品Pro Plan Bright Mind的一則廣告。據普瑞納公司官方網站介紹，這是一款配方狗糧，富含“獨家調配的營養成分，有助于腦部發育，七歲以上寵物狗食用后警惕性更高、思維更敏銳。”在Pro Plan Bright Mind的廣告中，那位男士還流著淚說，讓他的“女士”改用這款產品后，“她想學東西了。”

簡單地說就是，人們把狗、貓、有時還包括倉鼠、小鳥、海龜等等寵物視同己出。《財富》雜志與市場調研公司Morning Consult最近聯合組織的一項調查顯示，76%的受訪者將寵物視為“摯愛的家庭成員”，只有19%的受訪者認為，寵物“得到百般呵護，但還是被當成動物。”

赫爾佐格教授說：“我和一些同行聊過，我們都注意到這一點。”他認為，原因應該歸結為人口趨勢變化：一是獨居的美國人增多，2014年，單身人士家庭占比由1970年的17%升至28%；二是以80后和90后為主的千禧一代對結婚生子持觀望態度；與此同時，退休人士壽命更長，生活方式更健康。這些趨勢催生了一個有錢有閑的龐大人群。他們需要釋放情感，于是就把寵物當成自己的孩子。

范帕梅倫在紐約寵物狗水療賓館的經歷，就是一個鮮活例證。如同許多新晉父母一樣，這家賓館的不少常客都著了迷似地在社交媒體上記錄自家寵物狗的日常生活。半數以上入住該賓館的狗都在圖片分享網站Instagram上有專屬賬號（市場調研機構英敏特數據顯示，美國每十只寵物就有一只擁有社交媒體賬號。）。

范帕梅倫說：“一些寵物狗賬號甚至比我的粉絲多得多。”開這些賬號可能只是為了自我滿足，但也正是因為寵物在網上有跡可查，范帕梅倫的工作變輕松了。寵物主人要求更新照片時，她只需要在狗的賬號里操作即可。她說，很大一部分客戶“還沒有孩子，或者只有一個孩子，所以狗是他們生活中非常重要的組成部分。”

主人們對寵物滿滿的愛，讓這個行業極具抗壓性。APPA總裁兼首席執行官鮑勃·韋泰雷追蹤寵物消費幾十年。2007年至2009年金融危機最深重的時期，寵物行業的銷售收入還增長了10%以上。韋泰雷指出：“人們會縮短假期，會減少外出就餐的次數，會在其他很多方面省錢，卻從不會虧待寵物。”

That many of the New York Dog Spa and Hotel’s services and amenities, including PB & Bacon, Mac & Cheese and Apple Pie-flavored treats and group “play date” sessions, appear to be designed for human children is not lost on marketing manager Dana VanPamelen. “It’s like childcare,” she says of the company’s boarding services.

Yes, this is New York City, known for its over-the-top, expensive amenities. Along with urban centers such as San Francisco and Los Angeles, New York is an outlier in the sheer volume of its upscale pet services. But as with many trends that start on the coasts and bleed inward, it’s also an exaggerated manifestation of a national shift.

Americans are spending more money on their pets than ever before. This year the pet industry is projected to take in $63 billion, up more than 25% from 2010 according to the American Pet Product Association (APPA). Meanwhile, the percentage of pet owners remained relatively stable, rising just 3% in that same period — today, approximately 65% of U.S. households own pets — which means average spending far outstrips the growth of the pet population.

“If you look at the amount of money per capita we spend on pets, it’s absolutely stunning. Most of the [industry’s] growth has been on the high-end,” says Harold Herzog, a professor of psychology at Western Carolina University in North Carolina, citing an explosion of luxury products and services, everything from manicures, to facials, to fitness trackers, to gluten-free snacks, to pet day care, to automatic water dispensers.

“Whatever you might want to give for yourself and your children, you might want to do for your pets as well,” agrees George Puro, an analyst for the market research firm Packaged Facts. This translates into pet owners expressing their personality via merchandise for their dog, cat, guinea pig etc., be it Stars Wars gear, themed t-shirts, or elaborate Halloween costumes.

In the food category, it’s created an explosion of products marketed to attract human tastebuds and assuage human health concerns. The premium pet food market, which took in $23 billion last year, has tracked human health trends — visit any high-end pet food store, and you’ll find an array of non-GMO, organic, grain-free, raw, paleo, fill-in-the-food-fad-of-your-choice-here products. Dog treats now come in flavors from lobster roll, to green juice, to pizza crust.

“They’re giving [these products] names that sound yummy to your own ears,” says Puro.

This tendency to market dog products as if they were for people is reflected and reinforced by mainstream advertising and media (a recent New York Times opinion column was titled “Dogs Are People, Too.”)

“I’d like to see more of the old Lady. I’d like to see her go back to her more, you know, social side,” a man says about his 10-year-old dog in a commercial for Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind, a dry formula that contains a “proprietary blend of brain-supporting nutrients that have been shown to promote alertness and mental sharpness in dogs 7+,” according to the company’s website. After switching Lady to a diet of Purina Pro Plan Bright Mind, “she wants to learn things,” the man continues, tearing up.

In short, we’re treating our dogs, cats —and in some cases, hamsters, birds, turtles and a variety of other pets—as if they were our children. According to a recent Fortune-Morning Consult Poll, 76% of owners classify their pets as “beloved members of the family,” compared to the 19% who responded that they’re “well cared for, but still considered animals.”

“I’ve talked with other people in my field, and we’ve all noticed it,” says Herzog. He believes it comes down to demographic shifts. More Americans live alone — the percentage of single households rose to 28% in 2014 from 17% in 1970 — and millennials are waiting to get married and have children. Meanwhile, retired people are living longer, healthier lives. These multiple trends culminate in a sizeable percentage of the population that has the money, time, and emotional space to treat a pet as if it were a child.

VanPamelen’s experience at the New York Dog Spa and Hotel supports this. Just like new parents, many of the Hotel’s regulars are obsessed with documenting their dogs’ daily lives on social media: More than 50% of incoming dogs arrive with their own Instagram accounts. (Nationwide, one in 10 pets has its own social media account, according to the market research agency Mintel.)

“Some of them have way more followers than me,” she says. They may be an ego check, but an online presence makes her job easier. When owners ask for photo updates, VanPamelen simply tags the dog’s account. A large percentage of clients “don’t have a kid yet — or maybe they have one kid — so a dog is a big part of their life,” she says.

Owners’ love for their pets has made the industry a resilient one. As president and CEO of the APPA, Bob Vetere has been tracking pet spending for decades. From 2007 to 2009, the heart of the financial crisis, the business of pets grew more than 10%. “People cut back on vacations, they cut back on the number of times they go out to eat, they cut back on a lot of other things — but they’re not going to get rid of their pet,” he says.

以上這些都是業內人士的看法。下面我們看一個鮮活的例子。26歲的瑪麗·阿特沃特-凱爾曼住在紐約市。她在一家非營利組織擔任公關助理，回到家還要照顧兩只小狗。每天晚上她都給小狗做晚飯，通常是蒸蔬菜、新鮮的精瘦肉和藜麥。凱爾曼說，英基今年3歲，精力旺盛，鬧個不停，而12歲的伊莫基則像個“脾氣暴躁的老人。”按這兩只哈巴狗的年齡算，她的評價沒錯。如果一只狗到了伊莫基的年紀，它算得上一位壞脾氣的老人家了。

照顧小狗絕非易事。凱爾曼一年半以前收養了伊莫基，那時它已經罹患癌癥。為了負擔昂貴的治療費用，她向父母貸了一筆款，許多生活習慣也不得不隨之改變。有些變化很小，比如少些做美甲，但減少和朋友聚餐之類影響還是挺大的。

盡管吃了不少苦頭，她既不后悔收養狗，也不后悔花錢給狗治病。她說：“如果沒有伊莫基陪在身邊，我都不知道這日子該怎么過。”（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審校: 夏林

That’s the analyst take. And then there is the anecdotal evidence. Mary Atwater-Kellman, 26, lives in New York City. In addition to her full-time job at as a communications associate at a non-profit, she is a caretaker of two, small dependents. Every night, she comes home to make them dinner, typically steamed vegetables, fresh lean meat and quinoa. At 3, Inky is a rambunctious ball of energy. Emoji, age 12, is like “a cranky old man,” says Atwater-Kellman. Which is fitting; in dog years, the relevant measurement as both Inky and Emoji are pugs, he’s earned the right to be a grumpy senior.

It hasn’t been an easy ride. Atwater-Kellman adopted Emoji a year and a half ago; since then, he has been diagnosed with cancer. To cover the expensive treatment she took a loan from her parents, which resulted in a number of lifestyle changes. Some of them are small — she’s reduced her visits to the nail salon — but others, such as cutting back on dinner with friends, have a larger impact.

Despite these adjustments, she doesn’t regret the adoption or paying for the treatment. “I can’t imagine life without Emoji.”