People with pets in strollers know you're giving them the side-eye. Here's what they want you to know.

Ever pass by someone pushing a stroller, expecting to see a cute gurgling baby inside only to find a chilled-out corgi, perky pug or sleepy Siamese cat? Pet strollers are popping up all over, but their owners and the reasons why they use them are often misunderstood, with some onlookers assuming they’re treating their fur babies like actual babies or that they’ve gone overboard with pampering their beloved pets. But in reality, the reasons for using a pet stroller are purely practical — and these items are more popular than ever.

The market is “booming” globally, according to Verified Market Research, which reports that 2024 revenue for pet strollers is estimated at $470 million and is expected to climb to about $820 million by 2031.

“They have increased in popularity,” Brandi Hunter Munden, vice president of public relations and communications at the American Kennel Club, tells Yahoo Life. “Some of it is due to trends, dog age and as congestion in some living areas continues to increase. Also, as dogs have various ailments, they are a viable way to safely bring your dog with you.”

That convenience is appealing to owners. “Pet owners are prioritizing spending quality time with their pets, and strollers are the perfect accessory for bringing them along during outings and routines,” Pete Scott, president and chief executive officer of the American Pet Products Association, tells Yahoo Life. “At least once a week, 50% of dog owners take their pets on foot for errands, and 53% take them along in the car. Strollers can help keep pets safe and secure during outings without having the added weight of a carrier and offer protection during cold and hot weather months, where salt or hot pavement can injure your pet’s paws.”

Scott adds: “Plus, everyone loves seeing an adorable pet in a stroller.”

Here, four pet owners share what led them to purchase a stroller and why they say it’s one of the best items they’ve ever bought.

‘The biggest misconception is that he’s just a spoiled dog and it’s unnecessary’

Sami Jo Siedband’s French bulldog Oatie Meal — who has his own Instagram account with more than 230,000 followers and an additional 340,000 followers on TikTok — was an immediate fan of pet strollers. Siedband’s neighbor had one for her senior dog who could no longer walk and when Oatie tested it out as a puppy, he “loved it immediately,” Siedband tells Yahoo Life. So she got one for him. “Frenchies are a stubborn breed to begin with, and Oatie isn’t much of a walker, but I sure am,” she says. “The stroller has allowed me to enjoy my hourlong walks with Oatie, who gets to enjoy being outside, walking as much as he wants, while not overdoing it.”

The stroller makes it possible for Siedband to spend more time outside the house with her 5-year-old dog. “I can bring Oatie on adventures that would normally be too tiring for him, without pushing his limits,” she says. “I bring him to the farmers’ market, dog-friendly restaurants, events, the mall and even traveling.” She adds: “It’s truly the best.”

The stroller’s storage is also an advantage. “The storage allows me to carry a water bottle, travel bowl, dog wipes, treats, poop bags, pepper spray, emergency meds like Benadryl and a cooling vest for hot days,” she notes, adding that it also keeps Oatie out of harm’s way: “We’ve been in situations where aggressive off-leash dogs have run over to us, but Oatie was safe in the stroller.”

Siedband says that when people see Oatie in his pet stroller they mostly smile or laugh, but not every reaction is positive. “The biggest misconception is that he’s just a spoiled dog and it’s unnecessary,” she says. “You never know someone’s reason for wanting or needing a pet stroller, so it’s important not to judge others. People also assume it’s a negative thing keeping him from walking, which couldn’t be further from our reality.”

She says that Oatie walks more with the stroller because it gets him out of the house for longer periods of time and he can take breaks when he needs them. “And simply, he loves it,” she says. “He loves going for rides, he loves spending extra time with me and I love getting to share more experiences with him.”

‘I truly feel it was the best purchase I ever made’

About a year after adopting a rescue dog named Theodore, Anna McGrath says he started exhibiting signs of extreme anxiety, including shaking underneath the bed. “I couldn’t get him outside at all,” she tells Yahoo Life. “I was trying everything with him and was struggling for about two months before the idea [to get a stroller] popped into my head. I truly feel it was the best purchase I ever made.”

The stroller provided “a safe enclosed space” where her dog, who is now 2 and a half years old, felt secure, alleviating his anxiety and serving as a transportation solution for the 35-pound pup. Their routine: Theodore would hop into the stroller in McGrath’s New York City apartment and then would “happily” jump out and walk around once they reached Central Park.

Now McGrath views the stroller as a multipurpose tool, calling it “a mobile dog-friendly purse.” She customized it by buying compatible baby stroller accessories, including cup holders and storage compartments, that made it functional for both of them. “It stores his toys, his treats,” she says. “I put my water in there, his water, his dog bowl. And I don’t forget things because it’s all in there.”

McGrath gets a range of reactions to her pet stroller. Most people she encounters around New York City are unfazed. “Anything goes,” she says. McGrath has three steps outside her apartment building and says sometimes people try to help her navigate the stroller down the stairs. “They’ll help me carry it down the stairs but are a little taken aback when they realize it’s a dog and not a baby,” she says. “Not that anyone’s said anything, but you can tell.”

When she travels outside the city with the stroller, however, McGrath says, “I can attest to the judgmental perspective.” She notes that even though dog ownership has evolved in the way people tend much more to their animals, not everyone is on the same page. “Sometimes from older generations I get the kind of, ‘Wow, that’s extravagant. That’s a little extra,’” she says, adding: “But it’s been a real game changer.”

‘It’s a real back-saver’

Mary Barnsdale has a trio of rescue dogs — 15-year-old Gracie and 14-year-old Gonzo, both rat terrier/Chihuahua mixes, and Corky, who is an 11- or 12-year-old poodle/Chihuahua mix “who identifies as a Papillon” — and says the stroller phase of their lives kicked off five years ago. “As my dogs have gotten older, they’ve become more accident- and injury-prone,” Barnsdale tells Yahoo Life. “They’ve had broken ribs, back and neck and leg issues ... in May, Gonzo even had to have his gallbladder and spleen removed. They’re in recovery a lot.”

If she had big dogs, Barnsdale says she would leave them at home while they’re healing. “But since I can wheel one around in a stroller at the park when they’re not well, I do,” she says. “It’s good for their morale, even if I find it kind of humiliating.”

Barnsdale uses her pet stroller to take her dogs on a 1.5-mile walk most days of the week along Point Isabel Regional Shoreline in Richmond, Calif., which is full of dogs and dog people. “There, I don’t even stick out. I’d feel very squirmy pushing a stroller with a tiny dog in it around my own neighborhood, though,” she admits. “I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

But Barnsdale appreciates having a pet stroller, sharing that even carrying her lightest dog, Corky — who is about 13 pounds — “gets very old.” She adds: “It’s a real back-saver.” Plus, she says, “It’s also profoundly cute that Corky actually prefers to ride. He clearly considers it his due.”

‘I stroll with pride’

Terry Roy has been using a pet stroller for nine years, with a rotating cast of her own dogs and fosters. Roy tells Yahoo Life that she walks 2 miles twice a day and the stroller makes a big difference. Her dogs are what she calls “the nonsporting group,” meaning some of them either don’t want to walk or lose steam quickly and need a lift, which is where the stroller comes in.

But the pet stroller has been helpful in other ways too. For Roy’s dog Lily — a 13-year-old blind Boston terrier (who passed away a month ago) who liked to “walk and sniff but we couldn’t walk anywhere” — the stroller allowed her to still enjoy the great outdoors. The stroller also helped Corbie, a French bulldog Roy adopted who had to learn how to walk on three legs after a leg amputation, which was tiring. “Two miles twice a day is really too much for him,” she says. And earlier this year, Roy picked up a 7-month-old Frenchie named Shamrock from a shelter with a terrible case of mange. “For the first week or so she didn’t want to do anything but lay under the blanket” in the stroller. While Shamrock has fully recovered, she still sometimes likes to ride. “She’s happy to be in and take a break,” Roy says.

Roy admits that the comments and assumptions some people make about the pet stroller are a disadvantage. “But I don’t care,” she says. “They’re not going to shame me from doing this. It’s serving a purpose, and the longer I do it I see the different reasons for different dogs. It’s not about babying them and ‘Let them walk.’ Here’s this fat little Frenchie who doesn’t want to walk. It’s not like I won’t let them walk if they want to. Maybe that dog has already walked a mile and is winded.”

Despite some negative comments, Roy is undeterred. “I stroll with pride,” she says.