Pampered Pets

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     Young, career-minded newlyweds aren’t always ready to start a family, and two incomes often equate to “Let’s make Fluffy really happy,” he says. Vetere predicts the pet-spending trend will continue rising over the next five years.            

     Lock, however, has concerns about the pet-product explosion. “There’s literally so much stuff out there I think people are going to get weary of it after a while,” she says, creating “a need to constantly come up with new products.”  

‘Spoiling Them Rotten’

Meanwhile, pet-pampering spending continues at full trot. Jo Wardle, owner of Bogy’s Barkery in Sacramento, for example, feels “very blessed to have my business increase every year. This year we hope to do more than $100,000 in sales.”            

     That would compare with the store’s 2003 total sales of $78,000. Through the end of this year’s first quarter, the store had already rung up sales of $48,000, says a beaming Wardle. “The word is out that these sweet little animals need to be spoiled and taken better care of and in doing that, people are just spoiling them rotten.”            

     Wardle’s Chihuahua-Jack Russell mix, Bogy, is “spoiled rotten” for good reason. When Bogy became ill from allergies to wheat and corn in commercial dog treats, Wardle baked her organic treats. Wardle’s daughter, Lisa Spurney, shared space in her midtown gift shop for her mom to start Bogy’s Barkery in 2000. The store has expanded so much it’s taken over the entire shop, and now Bogy’s is much more than a dog bakery.            

     “Lately, the big items are dog carriers,” says Wardle, who orders from manufacturers across the country. Pet-tote prices range from $34 for a basic carrier to $350 for a designer leather carrier made by New York Dog.            

     Among the Barkery’s more unique items are tennis shoes ($58) and Pawlish ($8.50), a nontoxic nail polish for dogs. You can even get Pawlish remover for $6.50 or handy polish-remover Pawpads at $6.95 for the fashion-conscious dog on the go.

Barkday Party Kits

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