Washington, March 12 : The US pet industry has reached a record $157 billion in spending, but small business owners told senators that rising healthcare costs, regulatory hurdles, labour challenges, and financing constraints are making it harder for many companies to keep pace with the sectorâ??s rapid growth.

At a hearing of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee on Wednesday (local time), lawmakers and business owners painted a picture of a booming consumer market that has become increasingly central to Main Street businesses across the United States.

Senator Joni Ernst, the Republican chair of the committee, said pets occupy an expanding role in American life and in the economy that serves them.

â??Pets have a very special place in our lives, in our families and even here in the Senate,â?? she said, noting that about 57 per cent of American households own at least one pet. In rural America, she said, that figure rises to 71 per cent, with nearly half of households owning more than one animal.

As pet ownership has grown, she said, businesses built around animal care have expanded alongside it. Local veterinarians, community trainers, pet stores, and grooming services now form a vast ecosystem of small enterprises supporting what has become one of the countryâ??s fastest-growing consumer industries.

But several witnesses told senators that running those businesses has become more complicated and more expensive.

Josh Rogers, a franchise owner of Camp Bow Wow dog daycare and boarding services, said his company now operates seven locations across Missouri, Colorado, and Florida and employs more than 140 workers.

Rogers said the franchise model allowed him to expand rapidly, describing how it â??allowed us to go into business for ourselves, but not by ourselves.â?? He said the business opened its first location in 2020 and reached break-even in six weeks.

Still, he told lawmakers that policy uncertainty and labour costs remain major concerns. He pointed in particular to the federal â??joint employerâ?? standard, which governs the legal relationship between franchise operators and parent companies.

Another witness, Dr Gary Brown, a veterinarian from West Virginia, said veterinary practices remain essential pillars of local economies, particularly in rural communities.

Brown told the committee that the United States has roughly 34,000 veterinary practices. A typical companion animal practice generates more than $1.5 million in annual revenue, while each full-time veterinarian produces a median gross revenue of about $600,000.

â??Veterinary practices are community-based businesses that provide stable employment,â?? Brown said, adding that many clinics also anchor the broader network of commerce in smaller towns.

Robert Van Sickle, co-founder of the Boston-based pet treat company Polka Dog, described the balancing act of operating a growing small business in an increasingly competitive industry.

Polka Dog began in 2002 as a single neighbourhood shop in Bostonâ??s South End. Today, the company operates 11 retail locations, two warehouses, and a 14,000-square-foot manufacturing kitchen that distributes products to retailers around the world.

By most measures, Van Sickle said, the company has been a success. Yet the daily pressures of running the business remain constant.

â??Despite our longevity and growth and how our company might look to someone from the outside, within the walls we still operate very much as a small business,â?? he said.

Van Sickle said rising costs have forced difficult decisions about wages, investment, and expansion. The company expects its employee health insurance premiums to rise sharply again this year, after increases in recent years.

Lawmakers also heard about regulatory obstacles facing businesses that sell products nationwide. Van Sickle said companies like his must register products with agriculture departments in all 50 states, each with different forms and labelling rules.

The process, he said, is time-consuming and often confusing.

â??Itâ??s more time-consuming than it is onerous from a financial standpoint,â?? Van Sickle said, but he added that a unified national system would greatly simplify compliance for small manufacturers.

Democrats on the committee used the hearing to highlight broader economic pressures facing small businesses and consumers.

Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts said rising prices for fuel, electricity, food and health care were squeezing both pet owners and the businesses serving them.

â??This pet inflation may mean that a trip to the vet, a visit to the pet store, or even keeping a pet at all is out of reach for many Americans,â?? Markey said.

The hearing underscored how deeply pet ownership has become embedded in American culture. According to industry figures cited during the hearing, millions of households now treat pets as family members, driving spending on food, veterinary services, grooming, and boarding.

The growth of the sector accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Americans adopted pets while working from home. The trend has continued, turning animal care into a major segment of the US consumer economy.

/IANS