Thom cited an AP story in his daily roundup of marketing stories this morning that says that Americans spent $48.7 billion on their pets in 2007, nearly twice the amount of a decade ago and growing at more than 7 percent a year.
Doug Poindexter, president of the World Wide Pet Industry Association, is quoted as saying that the gift-giving trend reflects the growing humanization of pets in this country.
Wouldn't know anything about that <g>.