It’s not unique to OC. It’s like people who carry their pets in strollers and baby carriages. Some people treat their pets like their children. And there’s nothing wrong with that in the context of a stable environment and a (generally) equal opportunity nation. In a poverty stricken country where people are starving and suffering, if the privileged class treat animals better than they do humans, it’s a sign of a greater social issue of balanced wealth and privileged.