Puppy love: Owners pamper pooches

Watching Ricky and Lilly Watkins bounce enthusiastically from toy to toy, it's easy to tell they love coming to daycare.

The Watkins siblings have made playmates out of the other daycare regulars. They play outside on nice days and inside on hot days. They enjoy tasty snacks and cuddle up to special pillows. And sometimes, they get bathed before going home for the day.

"I think of them as little people in fur coats," said Larry Stone, owner of K-9 Training Center and Happy Tails Doggy Daycare. "They're actually family members, and we treat them that way."

From back left, Lilly, Ricky, Rider and Brittany play together during their stay at the day care.

Ricky, a Havanese, and Lilly, a Bishon Frise, are two regulars at Stone's canine daycare in Cape Girardeau.

From fancy treats to rhinestone collars to special chairs, Stone has seen "just about everything you can imagine" when it comes to indulging pets.

Across the country, services such as dancing lessons, swimming lessons and acupuncture for animals have led to a major increase in how much owners spend pampering their pets -- $34.4 billion last year.

According to American Pet Product Manufacturing Association Inc., that's more than double the $17 billion a year spent a decade earlier,

Much of that went for routine veterinary visits and over-the-counter food, but more owners are paying for toys, gourmet biscuits and a nice haircut. Cats outnumber dogs, but more of the money is going to the dogs.

Companies that once served only humans now consider their animal companions customers. Paul Mitchell, Omaha Steaks and Harley-Davidson are among the companies extending their brands to pets by offering shampoos, treats and attire, respectively.

Rebecca Kalch carries brand-name pet clothing, leashes and collars at her Four Paws Bakery Inc. in Occoquan, Va. For example, there's the Ruff Wear clothing line, including boots. "This is for the canine that's going places," said Kalch, who also sells polos to match an owner's shirt.

Her bakery, which opened in November, makes Barkday and Bark Mitzvah cakes for those special occasions. Kalch is trying to get other boutique pet stores to carry her homemade treats -- with names like Pupparoni and PNut-Butter Pudy-Tat's -- and pet meals.

Kalch is breaking even on her expenses and sales, which she didn't expect to happen until the end of this year. She attributes some of her sales to couples with fewer or no children, along with senior citizens purchasing treats for their "grand dog" or "grand kitten."

"They realize that that's all they're getting so they might as well spoil something!" Kalch said.

Pet acupuncturists and chiropractors make regular house calls at Sherry Shumaker's home in New York. When five-year-old Doberman pinscher Heidi broke a tooth, she had a root canal. Hobbes, a 16-year-old cocker spaniel, requires the most medical care, including his own cardiologist.

"He has more doctors than I do," Shumaker said.

Shumaker has also paid for dancing lesson for Heidi, who has been taught to stand on her hind legs, walk backward and spin in time to music.

In addition to dance lessons, Shumaker, 43, a systems analyst, confesses to spending a "ridiculous" amount of money on her three dogs, giving them such luxuries as acupuncture therapy and organic food.

"I just wish I could use them as a tax deduction every year," she said, laughing. "They're worth every penny."

In the late 1980s, dog day-care facilities began appearing on the East and West coasts, said Susan Briggs, co-owner of Houston-based Urban Tails, who is leading an effort to establish operating standards through the American Boarding Kennels Association, based in Colorado Springs.

Now, there are more than 1,500 dog day-care centers, including some operated by such giants as PetSmart and Petco, serving pet owners seeking exercise and socialization for their dogs, Briggs said.

There are also spas that cater to canines, offering swim lessons and space for doggie birthday parties.

When MaryAnn and Michael Settlemyre adopted Bailey, they discovered the chocolate Labrador was "deathly afraid of water" -- even a puddle, she said. Bathing the three-year-old left them more soaked than their pooch and they didn't want Bailey to be terrified during a vacation to a beach or lake, so they enrolled him in canine swimming classes.

"We're the first people to take some teasing because we're taking our dog to swimming lessons," said MaryAnn Settlemyre, 38, a teacher who doesn't have children.

They watched from behind a glass wall as an obedience trainer cajoled Bailey into the 40-foot-long pool during his first swim lesson at Yappie Cuttery, a dog spa in Manassas Park, Va..

MaryAnn Settlemyre jokes that Bailey, who was rescued from an abusive home, is a "thousand dollar rescue dog" because they spent nearly $1,000 on an invisible fence for their back yard. Swim classes cost at least $20 a lesson. Now that Bailey has scored well on his personality evaluation, he'll attend day care at least once a week. The couple also give Bailey toys, expensive food and private obedience lessons.

"If you are going to have a dog and take care of him appropriately, it can be costly," she said. "I think an animal is a luxury."

Yappie's spa packages include a 30-minute run on an underwater treadmill. Suites for overnight guests have beds. Yappie hosts birthday parties to which dogs can invite their closest canine pals.

Of course their dogs are worth it, owners say.

"When we come home, there's nothing better," MaryAnn Settlemyre said. "He's excited to see you."

Features editor Callie Clark Miller contributed to this report