Dogs put paws out for 'Santa Claws' owners

Bones and squeaky toys? No thanks. New York's pampered pooches want cashmere and baby alpaca sweaters for Christmas this year.

Spending on dogs has soared in New York - a city famous for its eccentrics - and doggie outfits, spa treatments and edible Christmas cards are in hot demand.

New Yorker Howie Binder, a pet salon owner who has two dogs, said a "Rex in the City" craze in the past five years had made New York the world's dog capital - although there are no official figures to prove this - and was big business.

New York dog owners love to spend. Cashmere sweaters at US$100 ($141) each and alpaca sweaters from US$55 are the big sellers this season.

"My dogs have bigger wardrobes than most people," said Binder, owner of the Doggie Do and Pussycats, Too! store that offers grooming, day-care for dogs and upscale pet products.

His dogs, Jessica and Trevor, are among about three million living among eight million people in the city.

Take a walk in any of the more ritzy areas of New York and every other person has a dog - on a leash, being carried in a bag or even being pushed along in a stroller.

"New Yorkers love to pamper their dogs, which are like babies that never grow up," said Binder.

One of his clients insisted Italian opera was played for her dog during grooming and another would bathe her dog only in Evian water.

Figures from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association show American owners are expected to spend about US$34.3 ($48) billion on their pets this year, up 6 per cent on last year.

This holiday season, 54 per cent of dog owners and 41 per cent of cat owners are expected to buy gifts for their pets.

Bill Sims, retail analyst at Smith Barney, said dogs had become increasingly popular in New York among people in their 20s or 30s who were not ready for or did not want children, and with the 45 to 64 "empty nester" group whose children had left.

"People are replacing kids with dogs," Sims said.

He said this craze had changed the pet supplies industry, shifting the focus from lower-margin food items to higher-margin supplies such as apparel for dogs, spa treatments and dog grooming.

This has benefited pet supply companies such as PetCo Animal Supplies and PetSmart, whose shares this year have risen 23 per cent and more than 50 per cent respectively.

Big-name companies have also joined the trend. Harley Davidson, Gap's Old Navy stores and Omaha Steaks are offering dog shampoos, pet attire, name-brand toys and gourmet treats.

 

This Christmas, one catalogue, In the Company of Dogs, is selling mink-trimmed vests for US$89.95, and a faux-jewel encrusted bed covered in royal blue velvet and lined in gold velour for US$350.

 

But where will New Yorkers' obsession with dogs end? Maybe on Staten Island, where the city has opened its first pet cemetery at the historic Episcopal Church of St Andrew.

The church has been inundated with inquiries since blessing part of the churchyard in October as a final resting place for pets, selling about 750 plots for US$500 each.

- REUTERS