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Americans spent more than $21 billion dollars on their pets last year.  In addition, more households have pets than children.  There are thousands of pet owners in your market and we can help you and your advertisers reach them with The Pet News with Steve Dale.  This is a valuable sales tool for your advertisers to align with unique programming that matches the demographics of their customers. Not only is this program ideal for local sponsorships, but also offers endless possibilities for promotions and community events.

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Steve Dale is a nationally recognized pet expert, an award winning journalist and broadcaster. Steve delivers lively anecdotes daily to over 120 stations with, "The Pet News."

Guests are leading experts on topics like pet behavior, nutrition and veterinary medicine. Steve is proud that he delivers the most qualified specialists in the nation to answer listener questions and discuss newsworthy topics.

Steve authors the most well read pet column in the Nation, My Pet World, syndicated to more than 100 newspapers by Tribune Media Services, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Ft. Lauderdale, Houston, New York, Orlando and San Diego.

Steve's influence and expertise prompted an invitation to present a seminar on cat behavior at the prestigious Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas (2001), speaker at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Annual Meeting (1999), and emcee of the Dog Writer’s Association Awards Banquet (2000). He speaks to local shelters and humane groups regularly. For seven years, he’s announced the International Kennel Club of Chicago Dog Show.

His television appearances include “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” “National Geographic Explorer,” “Pets, Part of the Family,” “Petsburgh USA” and “The Pet Project” on Animal Planet.  He was twice featured in Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story,” and his radio guest appearances number over 100 on stations large and small across the U.S and Canada.

Books:“DogGone Chicago: Sniffing Out the Best Places to Take Your Best Friend,” NTC Contemporary Books, 1999, 2001; and “American Zoos,” Bantam-Doubleday-Dell, 1992.

Community Action:Board Member: Dog Advisory Workgroup, an advocacy organization working in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office in Chicago and The Chicago Park District; and the Chenny Troupe, animal assisted therapy.

Honors:

Best Radio Show, Dog and Cat Writer’s Associations, 1999, 2000

Best Newspaper Columnist/Publication of the Year Award, Cat Writers’ Association, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000

Special Award Columnist/Publication of the Year Award Dog Writer’s Association, 1996 and 1999.

Maxwell Medallion Best Newspaper Column Dog Writer’s Association, 1996 and 1999.

Anti-Cruelty Society Media Person of the Year, 1997

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Businesses or retailers that specifically target people with pets are perfect for sponsoring The Pet News with Steve Dale.  A few examples are:

             Pet Supply Shops            Kennels                          Groomers

             Training Centers             Veterinarians                 Pet Friendly Hotels

             Pet Insurance                  Pet Cemeteries              Animal Rights Groups

             Feed Stores                    Dog Parks                      City Zoos

             Breeders                         Pet Specialists               Animal Cleaning Crews

             Adoption Agencies          Aquariums                      Exotic Pet Shops

             Stables/Riding Centers   Equine Stores               

Also consider vendors that aren't pet oriented, but want to be more pet friendly and attract pet lovers.  This is a great way for potential advertisers to show they care about the well being of our pets.  A few ideas are:

             Fence Builders                Car Dealerships             Restaurants

             Insurance Agents            Local Cable Company    Contractors

             Super Stores                   Local Associations

These are just a few ideas to get you started.  Don't forget joint sponsorships, too!  Coupling businesses will optimize your revenue generating capabilities. 

With The Pet News with Steve Dale the possibilities are endless.             

For more information on how you can bring

The Pet News with Steve Daleto your station,

Contact your Regional Affiliate Representative!

The Pet Facts   

The average pet owner age is 47 years.

82% of  pets are owned by "traditional" families re:  husband/wife/kids

70% own their own homes

72% of those homes are single family residences

56% are married

Income breakdown is

under 15K  19%

15-25K       15%

25-35          15%

35-50          17%

50K+           34%

Source is the  2000-2001  American Pet Products Manufacturers Association National Pet Owners Survey Book.

In 1996 Americans lavished 21 billion dollars on pet foods, products and services, according to the Washington D.C. based Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC).  At an annual growth rate of 16%, the lovable critters are beginning to affect the nation’s economy – the pet industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the country.

Pets are now considered members of the family.  According to the American Animal Hospital Association in Denver, Colorado, 81% of owners consider companion animals members of the family (61% even buy holiday gifts for their pets).  According to a survey commissioned by PETCO, 59.9% of respondents say they’re doing a better job at raising their pets than their parents did.

Did you know there are more households with pets than children?

1996 Pet Owning Households in the U.S. 58.2 million

1991 Pet Owning Households in U.S., 54.8 million

1996 Non-Pet Owning Households in the U.S., 40.6 million

1991 Non-Pet Owning Households in the U.S., 39.8 million

SPECIFIC PET NUMBERS

Dogs now total 52.9 million  (up from 52.5 million in 1991)

Cats now total 59.1 million  (up from 54.6 million in 1991)

Birds now total 12.6 million  (up from 11 million in 1991)

Ferrets/Rabbits now total 2.3 million  (up from 1.7 million in 1991)

Hamsters/gerbils/Guinea pigs and other rodents now total 2.3 million

(up from 2.2 million in 1991)

Reptiles now total 1.5 million  (up from .9 million in 1991)

People who keep fish now total 6.3 million  (up from 2.8 million in 1991)

Horses now total 4 million   (down from 4.9 million in 1991)

*With the exception of horses, pet ownership is up across the board.  It’s suspected that due to the manner in which numbers are compiled, reptiles are particularly understated in the survey.  Cats are also probably understated.

The number of pets is also on the rise world wide, according Euromonitor, a London-based institute on statistics; there are 500 million pets worldwide.

In 1996, the pet food market alone exceeded 10 billion, that is more than Americans spent on baby food, according to Barron’s (4/96)

Not only are more people getting more pets, the pets we do have are living longer than ever before, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The bulk of pet owners do have expendable income:  23% of the pet households earn more than $60,000.00 and 44.5% of all pet owners earn $40,000.00 or more (that is about 5% more than the general population in this income bracket).

75.2% of all pet owners live in their own homes (68.9% of the general population live in homes).

(source:  U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographic Sourcebook, 2001 copyright, American Veterinary Medical Association)