Dogs have come a long way since the days when they were put to work on farms and fed scraps, writes Greg Rosalsky in the Planet Money newsletter. “They’ve even come a long way since just a few decades ago when they spent their nights in the doghouse.”

If you don't think so, just ask my dog. She sleeps on a memory foam bed—when she's not happily snoozing on my feet while I work. Or snacking on gourmet dog treats, drinking water with an herbal additive or being whisked off to a playdate at doggy daycare.

But that’s not to say this is a purely one-sided friendship. Researchers have found that pet owners have a lower risk of heart disease and that simply having a dog reduces a person’s risk of premature death by up to a third. They're certainly good stress relievers.

Which could explain why as companies look to reopen their offices post-pandemic, many remote workers—some of whom adopted a new pet during the pandemic—are choosing their pets over jobs, reports TIME.

Since 1998, the pet population in America has almost doubled—about two-thirds of the country now owns a pet, writes Mark Cushing in his new book, Pet Nation.

Cushing traces the revolution back to 1998. The the annual amount that Americans spent on their pets ballooned from $23 billion to $90.5 billion (in inflation-adjusted terms). That's a staggering 293% increase. And then the pandemic hit, causing spending to soar even higher. Last year, Americans spent a record $103.6 billion on their furry friends (as well as non-furry reptiles, birds and fish).