Grumpy Editor

AVERAGE PET INSURANCE PREMIUMS ARE MODERATING

With more pets in U.S. households, Grumpy Editor notes there are signs of pet insurance trending lower.

Money magazine says according to the North American Pet Health Insurance Association, average cost of insuring a pet cat against accident and injury has gone down from $349 a year in 2019 to $341 in 2020 while  premiums for dogs rose at a much more modest rate than in any other year since at least 2016.  

Between 2018 and 2019, the annual premium increase for insuring an average dog was $26.47, tallies the magazine.  From 2019 to 2020, the same number went up by  $8.75, about a third of the previous year’s hike.

New pets are the reason average premiums have moderated, says Rick Faucher, CEO and cofounder of The Connected Pet Company and president of NAPHIA. “We’ve seen double-digit growth in gross written premiums, which have increased by 25.5 percent, as well as double-digit growth in the number of pets insured, which grew by 22.5 percent. When a market expands that quickly, you see a unit cost flattening, because you have a larger pool to spread the risk.”

“Pet insurance premiums are a relatively hefty expense,” points out Money.  “On average, you’ll pay around $700 a year to insure a dog and $350 or so to cover a cat. Even a moderation of the premium hikes of recent years could result in spending hundreds of dollars less over your pet’s lifetime than might have been the case. And that in turn could reduce the sting of having pet insurance that rarely if ever pays out, as our analysis suggests will be the case for most dog and cat owners.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

 

WORLD'S LARGEST YACHT HAS SIX DECKS.  The world's largest yacht when it is launched in 2024 will be fitted with 39 apartments on six decks, along with restaurants, bars and an onboard beach club. At 728 feet, it is to be built by Norwegian ship designer and builder VARD at a cost of around $600 million.

 

IRS FACING MILLIONS OF UNPROCESSED RETURNS.  The tax filing season ends with the Internal Revenue Service facing 35.3 million unprocessed tax returns, higher than in the 2019 pre-pandemic filing season.

 

COUPLE FACES FINE FOR BULLDOZING JOSHUA TREES.  A San Bernardino, California, couple is facing an $18,000 fine after bulldozing 36 Joshua trees from land where they plan to build a home because it is illegal to remove or kill a Joshua tree, a candidate for the California Endangered Species Act.

 

GIANT HAILSTONE DROPS ON TEXAS.  A hailstone that fell one mile south-southwest of Hondo, Texas, measures “an unheard size” of 19.73 inches in circumference and 6.4 inches in diameter and weighs 1.26 pounds, which labels it the largest hailstone to drop on the state.

 

DOG RETURNS, RINGS DOORBELL. Spooked by fireworks, a dog called Rajah runs away from home in Greenville, South Carolina.   She returns home hours later and somehow rings the doorbell to be let in.

 

ROBOCALL DEADLINE ENDS FOR PHONE COMPANIES.   June 30 was the deadline for telephone companies to report to the Federal Communications Commission whether they are implementing the agency's required robocall blocking technology.  Did they meet the deadline?  We’ll find out soon.

 

RUSSIA AND CHINA EYE HAWAII?  Japanese deputy Yasuhide Nakayama tells the Hudson Institute Russia and China are coordinating military drills to threaten not only Taiwan but also Hawaii, and the U.S. should be wary of a Pearl Harbor style surprise attack.

WITH PANDEMIC, AMERICAN PET ADOPTIONS REACH RECORD LEVELS

Pet adoption and fostering throughout the pandemic reaches record numbers in the U.S, finds Grumpy Editor.

 

A sample of 1,023 pet owners surveyed between Dec. 22 and Jan. 4, find a whopping 71 percent tell Kinship Partners, a pet care company, and they could not have survived the coronavirus pandemic if they didn’t have their pet at their side.

 

Kinship Partners also notes 84 percent of "pet parents" say the pandemic showed them how much their pets improve their lives for the better.

 

Pet parents, it adds, share similar beliefs with human parents, with 62 percent saying their pet’s happiness is a top priority, with 80 percent of pet parents mentioning their pets deserve more of their time this year.

"To support today's pet parents, we must understand their journeys, from what inspires them to their biggest worries, and this report is a milestone in uncovering the most pressing areas of transformation in pet care," says Kinship Partners’ President Leonid Sudakov.

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

SOLDIERS TEST YOGA, MEDITATION.  Army soldiers in 20 basic training platoons at Fort Jackson, S.C., are in a 10-week program testing daily yoga and meditation regimens in basic training to assess their effects on factors like physical performance, mental toughness, discipline, injury rates, stress management and graduation rates.

POTATO HEAD DROPS MR.  Mr. Potato Head, the classic spud-shaped plastic toy, is getting a new, gender-neutral name — just plain Potato Head —  as toymaker Hasbro is scrapping the “Mr.” portion, that first hit shelves nearly 70 years ago.

RATS ON THE MOVE IN ENGLAND.  The lockdown in England triggers an increase in rats.  A pest controller patrolling London rubbish bins on the southern bank of River Thames says “rats are like little survival machines; wherever you get reliable access to food waste, they'll keep coming back.”

SHEEP EXTRA HEAVY WITH WOOL.  A sheep with 77 pounds coat of wool is given a new fleece of life after being found in a forest near Melbourne, Australia. The animal was taken in by Edgar's Mission Farm Sanctuary, later naming him Baarack and relieving him of his burden.

LAWMAKERS SEEK SINKING OF BATTLESHIP.  In Congress, a bipartisan group of 22 lawmakers asks acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas W. Harker to "save taxpayers millions of dollars" and sink the irreparably damaged USS Bonhomme Richard somewhere near Florida, mentioning the ship is an ideal candidate for artificial reefing.

 

NYPD TESTS ROBOTIC DOG.  The New York Police Department unveils a new police dog in its ranks --- one that doesn't need to eat, sleep or poop. The department is testing a 70-pound robotic dog made of circuits and hydraulics.   Cameras and lights are mounted on the device which allow the NYPD to view its surroundings in real-time.

RENAMING S. F. SCHOOLS PUT ON HOLD.  A plan to rename 44 San Francisco schools — including those honoring former Presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein — has been put on hold.  Gabriela Lopez, newly elected as president of the school board, says school officials must focus on reopening schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

ARMY EASES HAIRSTYLE REGULATIONS.  Revisions to the Army’s grooming and appearance standards loosen up hairstyle regulations and allow for earrings to be worn. Soldiers will be allowed to have highlights in their hair as long as it appears natural. 

 

VEGAS HOTEL WITH NO RESORT FEES.  Unlike others on the Las Vegas Strip, Virgin Hotels Las Vegas plans to open March 25 with no resort fees, complimentary self parking and free wi-fi.  

 

PETA SEEKS TO BAN THE WORD 'PET'

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the animal rights group, seeks to shelve use of the word “pet” and substitute it with “companion animal,” notes Grumpy Editor.

PETA also says dog owners should call themselves “dog guardians." 

PETA’s Jennifer White, in a combative segment on the U.K. television show "Good Morning Britain" with hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, urges people to think of alternatives, pointing out one of the main problems with the word “pet" is that it is patronizing to animals.

“A lot of people at home who have dogs or cats will call these animals pets and refer to themselves as owners and this implies that the animals are a possession, like a car for example,” she says.  “When you refer to animals not as the living beings that they are but as an inanimate object, it can reflect our treatment on these animals.  Animals are their own individual beings.”

PETA mentions the Journal of Animal Ethics "published an academic paper on how derogatory words ‘pets’ or ‘pests’ affects the way we treat these animals. That’s why instead of ‘pets’ PETA recommends ‘companion animals’ and instead of ‘dog owner’ say ‘dog guardian.’

The word “pet” dates back to the 16th century and can be traced to Scotland and northern England.

Noting the suggestion that dog owners should call themselves “guardians,” Morgan St. James, author of 18 books and owner of 10 dogs over the years, exclaims: "What hogwash for PETA!  The Cambridge English Dictionary defines 'pet' as an 'animal that is kept in the home as a companion and treated affectionately'."  St. James says, "Jennifer White is totally off-base in her assumption that if a person calls a dog or a cat a ‘pet' it won’t be treated well. The word has nothing to do with how a ‘pet' is treated. My pet dog Dylan, as with all my past dogs, is a cherished member of my family. Mistreatment has to do with the person themselves.”

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

DOG OWNER GATHERS SAVINGS TO SAVE PET'S LIFE.  California dog owner Jason Garrett is cashing his 401K and digging into life savings so he can pay for surgery to save his dog’s life.  His 12-year-old miniature Schnauzer, Lola, is diagnosed with mitral valve disease, common in dogs, affecting lungs and heart.  A veterinarian gives her about eight to nine months to live.  Garrett plans open-heart surgery for Lola by a specialist in the field — at a $45,000 price tag. "I’m also looking into selling my car if need be," he adds.

13 FULL MOONS THIS YEAR.  Moon watchers will have a special year in 2020 with 13 full moons that include two in October, one of them on Halloween night.  Noteworthy in 2020:   two supermoons (in March and April), four lunar eclipses and a blue moon.  A supermoon occurs when the full moon is especially close to Earth. 

 

 

FOX SETS RECORD WITH SUPER BOWL.  The Fox Channel, in showing the Super Bowl to more than 150 million viewers, grabs the largest revenue day in TV history, generating about $600 million gross revenue via more than 100 advertisers from the pregame through The Masked Singer.

PUBLISHING GROUP ADDS NEWSPAPERS.  A group of 11 community newspapers owned by Red Wing Publishing Co. has been sold to Media­News Group, owner of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and more than 100 newspapers across the country.

SERVICE DOGS PROGRAM SET FOR VETERANS.  House lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that would lay the groundwork for the Department of Veterans Affairs to start funding service dog programs and connect veterans with canines that could be critical for their mental health care.

ARMY OFFERS $60,000 BONUS.  The Army is offering a $60,000 bonus to lure more warrant officers into the air defense artillery branch, where specialists are in high demand to meet an expanding set of global missions. Sixty-eight new warrant officers are needed each year.

 

NORDSTROM PLANS TO SELL USED ITEMS.  Department store Nordstrom plans to sell second-hand items alongside new ones, joining such rivals as Macy’s, JC Penney and Madewell.

COMPANY IN ISRAEL WINS U.S. AIR FORCE CONTRACT.  State-run Israel Aerospace Industries wins a $240 million U.S. Air Force contract to manufacture wings for U.S. Air Force T-38 training aircraft.

PET OWNERS SPEND HEAVILY ON FOUR-LEGGED FAMILY MEMBERS

Furry family members get top treatment

 

Pet owners are projected to spend about $75 billion this year on their four-legged family members, notes Grumpy Editor.

This is up from about $72 billion last year and $45 billion a decade ago, tallies the American Pet Products Association.

 

"Globally, however, the pet care industry is worth more than $100 billion and is continually growing with more than 67 percent of U.S. households owning a pet, which equates to roughly 84.9 million homes," according to APPA.

 

In a 2018 breakdown, APPA says owners spent more than $30 billion in food, more than $18 billion in vet care, more than $16 billion in supplies and over-the-counter medicine and nearly $2 billion for the purchase of the animals plus $6.31 billion on "other services.”

 

Basic expenses for dog and cat owners include surgical and routine vet visits, food, treats, kennel boarding, vitamins, grooming and toys, adds APPA.

 

An APPA survey also finds 28 percent of dog owners and 17 percent of cat owners give gifts to their pets on their birthdays and 11 percent of dog owners and 5 percent of cat owners hold holiday or birthday parties for their pets.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

PORCH PIRATES TARGETED.  A Colorado Springs, Colorado woman, after thieves stole at least 20 packages from her porch, gives porch pirates a taste of their own medicine by leaving trash-filled Amazon packages outside her front door, thus getting her trash removed at no charge.

CNN RATINGS PLUMMET.  Fox News averaged 2.2 million viewers during primetime hours of 9-11 p.m. ET from Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, while MSNBC averaged 1.3 million viewers during the same time period and CNN yielded 643,000 average viewers.  It was CNN’s worst performance in nearly three years and the network’s worst turnout among the key demographic of adults age 25-54 in over five years.

NORTH KOREA OPENS RESORT.  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened Yangdok Hot Spring Cultural Recreation Center, a mountain spa and ski resort for visitors to enjoy “high civilization under socialism” as the country uses tourism exemptions in sanctions to build revenue for a broken economy.

CALIFORNIA FINES CVS.  California is fining CVS Pharmacy a record $3.6 million because 81 of its  stores in the Golden State refused to redeem recyclables (bottles and cans) or pay a required $100 daily fee as an alternative.

POSTAL FACILITY RENAMED AFTER MARILYN MONROE.  The Van Nuys (Calif.) Civic Center postal depot will be renamed the Marilyn Monroe Post Office.  She was raised in that section of Los Angeles and was discovered while working at Van Nuys Airport during World War II.

FOUR-WHEELED ACTOR.  The Chevrolet Suburban now has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Chevy’s largest SUV has been in 1,750 films, making an appearance in a movie every year since 1950.

GLOBAL TV AD SALES DROP.  In the latest sign that advertisers are following viewers to the internet, Bloomberg reports global TV advertising sales fell almost 4 percent this year, the steepest drop since the depths of the economic recession in 2009.

 

'BEVERLY HILLBILLIES" MANSION SOLD.  The French neoclassical-style mansion at the Chartwell Estate in Bel-Air, California, featured in the TV show "The Beverly Hillbillies," recently sold for about $150 million, effectively making it the most expensive home ever sold in the Golden State.

GENERAL MILLS LATEST TO SEE GROWTH AHEAD FOR PET FOOD

Grumpy Editor notes the country definitely is going to the dogs as Americans last year spent almost $70 billion on its canine population, almost a 70 percent hike from 2007, according to the American Pet Product Association.

It’s becoming big business with major food companies.

General Mills, maker of breakfast cereals such as Cheerios and with Haagen-Dazs, Pillsbury, Yoplait, Progresso Soup and Fiber One in the family, recently reached a deal to acquire Blue Buffalo Pet Products for about $8 billion.

The transaction with Wilton, Conn.-based Blue Buffalo will place Minneapolis-based General Mills into the mushrooming market for natural pet foods made with "wholesome" ingredients aimed at the 90 million dogs in the U.S.

So there’s much to bark about.

"We are competing more effectively in our existing categories by really listening to consumers and providing a variety of options that meet their needs," says General Mills CEO Jeff Harmening.  "In pet food, as in human food, consumers are seeking more natural and premium products and we have tremendous respect for how attentive Blue Buffalo has been to the needs of their consumers, pet parents and pets, as they have built their brand."

Other examples of consumer packaged goods manufacturers buying pet food companies iin recent years include J.M. Smucker and Big Heart Pet Brands in 2015, Mars and Iams in 2014, Nestle and Ralston Purina in 2001 and Procter & Gamble and Iams in 1999.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…

 

RED SOX TOPS WITH PAYROLL.  With the baseball season under way, it’s the Boston Red Sox, not the New York Yankees, with the highest payroll.  With Boston, it’s a whopping $223 million.  For the Yankees, it’s about $167 million, lowest since 2003.

BAD NEWS ON FAKE NEWS.  “Fake news will become very much a local experience, and very much a destructive one,” says David Chavern, CEO of News Media Alliance.  “If we get to disappointing journalism, then we lose civil society.” 

AFGHAN EXPENDITURES NOT TRACKED.  A Pentagon watchdog says U.S. military officials failed to properly track some 95,000 vehicles provided to Afghan forces or ensure millions of dollars of gasoline and other commodities --- adding up to $3.1 billion --- were used for their intended purposes.

BIG MAC TO SHELVE PLASTIC STRAWS IN U.K.  McDonald's, on an environmental kick, says it will phase out use of plastic straws in its United Kingdom restaurants. It will start using paper straws next month, but customers will have to ask for them. 

A JOB WHERE ONE CAN BARE ALL.  A Foster, R. I. lifeguard job being advertised has a rather unusual dress code:  No swimsuit required (although wearing one is okay).  The job, from May 26 to Sept. 3, is at Dyer Woods Nudist Campgrounds.  “Excellent communication skills” is one of the requirements.