the expansion of veterinary service

The pandemic created a shift in the business.

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Pet expenses, including for health care, are largely considered discretionary. Researchers frequently track consumer expenditures on pet food, toys, training and even surgeries to gauge consumer confidence.

But in the years leading up to the pandemic, loan underwriters began to sense that classification was increasingly unreliable. People no longer view their pets as property, said Ed Nunes, a senior manager at TD Bank who oversees veterinary lending. They see them as family.

There’s also new research that suggests pets were a panacea for many of the stressors associated with isolation, loneliness and poor health habits during the pandemic.

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