Kiwis spend about $1.6 billion each year on their pets, according to the council. Last year Consumer NZ found that the cheapest dog food cost $196 a year compared with $4593 for the most expensive.
When it comes to pampering, some Tauranga dog owners treat their dogs as children while others give them better care than themselves.
Those in the pet industry are quick to cash in on our four-legged obsession. Last year we reported that devoted Bay pet owners were spending up to $175 a week for doggy daycare, so their pampered pooches could be entertained while they worked.
That weekly amount is similar to weekly childcare costs.
On Monday, a new day spa for dogs in Tauranga is cashing in on the growing trend for dog owners to treat their dogs with luxury products and grooming.
Eat your heart out, Polynesian Spa. This resort-style facility even has an adult-size above-ground pool for the dogs to frolic in, as well as a playground complete with fountains, a Hobbit hole-style kennel and a bacon-flavoured bubble machine.
A second phase will include a lap pool and acupuncture for dogs.
Melissa Hartley, owner of the new dog spa, is correct in saying this is Tauranga following the worldwide trend toward dog owners wanting to treat their pets to the best care - and being willing to spend money to do so.
In Tokyo or LA it is not uncommon to see dogs in designer jeans, Burberry coats, sunnies and diamond-studded chains.
WHILE this amount of pampering may seem silly, a bit of puppy love goes a long way. I notice when I walk my dog even the toughest-looking guys will come and give him a pat. Tauranga SPCA runs education classes about caring for animals, because it believes that by teaching our youth about empathy toward animals, this same behaviour will be encouraged towards people. The theory goes that improving the way people perceive and treat animals could contribute to a reduction in the number of violent crimes committed in New Zealand.
Having a pet in the family is also an ideal way to teach children about compassion. As any dog owner knows, no amount of designer dog bowls match the loyalty of a dog to its owner.
This month a reclusive man lay dead in his rural Eketahuna home, and his dog lay beside him for two weeks. In December, it was reported in New York that when a blind man fell off the platform into the path of an oncoming train in the Manhattan subway, his guide dog leaped on to the tracks and lay in front of him in the train's way. Miraculously they both escaped injury as the train passed over them.
A friend of mine enduring chemotherapy told me that after each session when she would be slumped on her bed so sick she could barely lift her head to vomit, her loving dog did not budge from her bedside - even once when she was sick all over him.
Having a dog helps you meet other people. I am always offering to lend him to my single friend because our walks take ages, as a result of strangers with dogs stopping to chat.
My daughter says if she charged a dollar every time people asked to pat the dog she would be rich. I may just take my dog and the kids to the spa's open day today. Silly though it may seem, there is camaraderie in dog ownership and it brings a lot of fun and happiness - for us as well as the dogs.
