Why Are We Spending So Much Money on Our Pets? 重金养宠为哪般？

They have their own beaches. Their own parks. They can come with you to dinner and even to the spa. You can pay a little extra for some of them to sit with you on an airplane.

它们有自己的沙滩，有自己的公园，可与你共进晚餐，甚至一起做水疗。额外花点钱，它们当中有些还可以陪你坐飞机。

We’re not talking about your infant. We’re talking about your fur baby.

这里说的不是你的孩子，而是你的“毛孩子”。

We spend more on our pets these days than ever before， from outfits to organic kibble to matching diamond-studded collars and bracelets. Our dogs and cats have always made us feel good about ourselves and played a role in our family—that much hasn’t changed. They’re happy， cuddly friends that don’t care when you vent about a bad day at work， as long as you pet them and fill their bowl with food.

如今，我们在宠物身上花的钱比以往任何时候都多，从服装到有机宠物食品，再到配套的镶钻项圈和手镯。我们养的猫猫狗狗总是让我们感觉愉快，并且在我们的家庭中扮演着重要角色。这种情况从未有太多改变。它们是快乐、可爱的朋友，不会在意你吐槽一天糟糕的工作，只要你抚摸它们，给它们的碗里装满食物。

But at what point did Fido1 move out of the doghouse in the back yard and claim an expensive Tempur-Pedic bed that matches the decor of the master bedroom？

但是，菲多是什么时候搬出后院的狗窝，拥有一张与主卧室装饰匹配的、昂贵的泰普尔床的呢？

“Over the last decade， we’ve truly humanized our pets，” said Bob Vetere， president and CEO of the American Pets Products Association. “We’re no longer satisfied to reward them in ‘pet terms’ with something like a tennis ball. Instead， we reward them in human terms， with expensive diamond-studded leashes or something， in a way that we think is rewarding.”

美国宠物用品协会主席兼首席执行官鲍勃·韦泰雷说：“过去十年，我们真正实现了宠物的人性化。我们不再满足于把它们当作宠物、用网球之类的物品来奖励它们。相反，我们把它们当作人来看待，用昂贵的镶钻狗带或其他我们认为有价值的东西来奖励它们。”

It makes us feel better even though they’d probably rather have the tennis ball.

这让我们感觉更好，尽管狗狗们可能更喜欢网球。

But this “man’s best friend” relationship is more complex than that.

但是，这种与“人类最好朋友”的关系要比这更复杂。

More young people are delaying starting their own families and are opting to have pets instead. So not only do millennials have pets， their empty-nester parents are also replacing the grandkids with granddogs. Combine that with newfound spending money， thanks to a slowly but surely improving economy， and our pets are off the Publix-brand chow and now eat gluten-free organic food from an ecofriendly specialty pet food company.

越来越多的年轻人推迟生儿育女，转而选择养宠物。因此，不仅千禧一代养宠物，他们的空巢父母也在用“狗孙”取代“儿孙”。再加上缓慢但稳步改善的经济所带来的新消费力，宠物们也不再吃美国大众超级市场的自品牌食品，而是吃环保宠物食品公司专门生产的无麸质有机食品。

If it’s good enough for us， it’s good enough for our pets.

如果这些食物对人类足够好，那么对我们的宠物也足够好。

We love our pets so much that niche companies have grown out of our willingness to spoil them. Take FairyTail Planning， a Tampa-based company that specializes in planning your dog’s role in your wedding.

我们对宠物的溺爱，使得一些小众公司发展起来。以FairyTail策划公司为例，这是一家位于美国坦帕市的公司，专门策划宠物狗在主人婚礼上担任的某种角色。

“We have one client who bought her dog’s outfit for their wedding before she even started looking for her dress，” said Ilana Mobley， co-founder of FairyTail Planning with partner Kelly Maronpot.

伊拉娜·莫布利与合伙人凯莉·马龙波特联合创办了该公司。莫布利说：“我们有一位客户甚至在开始挑选婚纱之前，就为她的爱犬买好了参加婚礼的服装。”

As experienced petsitters， Mobley and Maronpot will help plan your dog’s role as a ring bearer， plan pet-friendly wedding photos and be there to watch your fur child during the reception and on your honeymoon.

莫布利和马龙波特有丰富的宠物看护经验，会帮助策划让爱犬担任戒童的角色，规划拍摄宠物友好的婚纱照，并在婚宴和蜜月期间看护您的“毛孩子”。

“So many companies are picking up on how obsessed we are with our pets. I saw a dog in a shopping cart at Michaels2 last week，” Maronpot said. “Restaurants have menus specific for dogs. There are happy hour events centered around your dog.”

“很多公司注意到人们对宠物的痴迷。上周我在迈克尔斯商店看到购物车里有一条狗。”马龙波特说，“餐馆有专门为狗准备的菜单。还有以狗狗为中心的欢乐时光活动。”

Sure， we use our pets as a socialization tool sometimes. They make appearances in Tinder dating app photos and lead to conversations at bars， at concerts or the farmer’s market. The dog park has become a popular spot for a first date.

当然，我们有时会把宠物当作社交工具。它们会出现在约会应用程序Tinder的照片中，还会在酒吧、音乐会或农贸市场为我们引出话题。狗狗公园已经成为初次约会的热门场所。

But in other ways， our pets become an excuse to isolate ourselves. When Rex is at your feet while you’re browsing Facebook on a Friday night， it’s easier to replace him with true human interaction， Vetere said.

但有时候，宠物也会成为我们自我封闭的借口。韦泰雷说，某个周五晚上，你浏览脸书时，雷克斯在你脚边，这时你就很容易用真正的人际交往来代替与它交流。

“But you still have to get up to take him outside， almost forcing interactions with other people that would not have otherwise taken place，” he said. “We’re starting to see that more and more.”

他说：“但最终你还是得出门遛狗，有点像是被迫与其他人进行本不会发生的互动。我们发现这种情况越来越普遍。”

At the end of the day， our pets do more for us than we do for them， said Kristen Levine， a Tampa-based pet expert and blogger. The former Tampa SPCA spokeswoman owns and operates a public relations firm for pet-related companies.

坦帕市的宠物专家兼博主克里斯滕·莱文说，归根结底，宠物为我们做的要比我们为它们做的多。这位曾做过坦帕保护动物协会发言人的女士拥有并经营着一家为宠物相关公司服务的公关公司。

“We’re willing to pay money to get dog DNA tests not necessarily for the benefit of our dogs， but for us，” Levine said. “What it comes down to is human nature. We crave that interaction we get from them， but we can’t get through text messages or email， like how we communicate with our loved ones now. It makes pets more accessible and more meaningful， in that way.”

莱文说：“我们愿意花钱为狗做DNA检测之类的事，不一定是为了狗，而是为了我们自己。归根结底，这是人类的天性。我们渴望与它们互动，但不能像和亲友交流那样通过短信或邮件来达成。这让宠物更容易相处，也更有意义。”

（译者单位：上海交通大学）

1菲多，默认狗名，代指任何狗狗，在美式英语中更常用。曾有一只名叫菲多的狗非常有名，它的主人是美国前总统亚伯拉罕·林肯。

2即Michaels Stores，美国最大的艺术和手工艺材料零售商。