The millennial pet owners who get into debt keeping their animal companions healthy
- Like many young people with pets, Caitlyn Isham treats her pig, Porkchop, as if he were her child. And like children, pets have expenses, some unforeseen
- His vet bills were the biggest surprise about having Porkchop, but, unlike 42 per cent of US millennials recently surveyed, she hasn’t been in pet-related debt
When Caitlyn Isham got her pet pig, Porkchop, six years ago, her large family had just welcomed three newborns.
“I had nephews born in May, June, and July,” says Isham, 37, who lives in the American city of Chicago. “I got Porkchop later in the autumn and said: ‘Here’s my contribution to the family.’”
With 14 nieces and nephews, Isham said she is “not short on the baby aspect”. And much like her siblings, she is a devoted, caring parent – her child just has hooves.
Porkchop snuggles in bed with Isham at night; Isham makes sure his diet is top-notch; she is on top of his veterinary surgeon visits; Porkchop has his own room in her apartment (Isham’s old walk-in wardrobe, which she converted); he has ample toys and entertainment; and he even pouts or throws a tantrum here and there.
“I treat him like my child,” says Isham, and one thing that comes with children is exorbitant expenses – seen and unforeseen. Recent data from an August 2019 LendingTree survey found that around 42 per cent of millennials surveyed in the United States have been in pet-related debt. Nearly one in 10 are currently paying it off.