My pets eat healthier than I do. It's true. Before the era of Amazon, the only food delivery programs were diet plans. Way back in 2002, I thought it would be a good idea to order The Zone Diet home delivery program. I lived in New York City, one of the few places where delivery was possible, and celebrities Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston were doing it, so why not? I ordered a month’s worth of food. It was expensive. Stupid expensive. A sleek cooler packed with bland three meals, showed up on my stoop every morning. I just had to reheat it. I tried it for a day and hated every bite. Not wanting to waste food, I gave the rest to my dog. My dog continued to eat eggs, chicken, steamed vegetables, sweet potatoes for a month. My friends joked that my shelter dog was on a celebrity diet. Meanwhile, I ate corporate lunch meeting leftovers.

Thankfully a lot has changed since then. Today we all have easy access to high-quality meal kits and human-grade pet food. Pet stores are not the only place to find fresh pet food, retails chains like Target and Whole Foods have refrigerated pet food sections. I buy fresh cat food when I grocery shop at my local Busch’s. I know I’m not the only one spending more on pet food.