Millennials are raising pets instead of kids. It's not going well for the pets.

Carl Godfrey for BI

Yena Kim describes her Shiba Inu, Bodhi, as her "soul dog." She hadn't planned to get a dog, but when she held him for the first time 15 years ago, she knew he was special. "I truly believe that we were meant to meet," Kim, now 37, says. "He was meant to be my muse and inspiration."

Ten years ago, Kim was working what she calls her dream job at Ralph Lauren when she decided to quit so she could spend more time with Bodhi. "It killed me to see his sad face as I left home for work," she says...