Pampered Pets

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The shop sells bone-shaped Bogy’s Birthday Cakes ($20) and Pupcakes ($2.75 each) that look yummy enough for people to eat. Pooch has a sweet tooth? He’ll beg for the six-pack of Bow-Wow Brownies for $8.75.             

     Wardle also hosts birthday parties for dogs at homes and sells a do-it-yourself Barkday Party kit ($42) that includes enough party supplies and goodies for eight dogs. “If they want it catered, we do that,” she also notes.            

     For one pet-owner customer, Wardle hosts a bow-wow bash every October for 30 to 50 dogs in the Sacramento-area host’s huge backyard.  For your own backyard bash, expect to spend about $200 to have Bogy’s entertain your party animals in style, with everything from hats, plates and balloons to gifts for the “parents” and take-home treat bags for the dogs.            

     Sutter Creek’s Three Dog Bakery in Amador County also specializes in tasty treats for dogs and hosts an annual “Howl-O-Ween” doggy costume contest. Sacramento’s Reigning Cats & Dogs puts on a similar Halloween festivity. The store sells $19.95 celebration cakes slathered in creamy frosting and freshly baked dog biscuits priced from 50 cents to a grand sampler for $14.95.  

Members of the Family

“People look at their pets as members of the family,” Petco’s Underwood says. “They want to make their pets look better, feel better, behave better, making them better family members.”             

     That’s sparked “tremendous growth in the service part of the industry,” he says, noting the grooming, training, vaccination and microchipping clinic services Petco offers. Microchips, inserted under the dog’s skin and detectable via a special scanner, are the high-tech answer to the old metal dog tags and will help ensure that Lassie always comes home.            

     For Christmas and other special occasions, Roseville artist Bobbi Baldwin will capture your pet’s likeness in pastel sketches for $95 framed, or $45 unframed. In partnership with local photographers, Petco also offers holiday photos of your pet sitting on Santa Paws’ lap.            

     Companies are also devoted to the less sublime aspects of owning a dog. Yucko’s in St. Louis, Mo., for instance, specializes in the Dogipot dog waste system. For $429, you get the container — shaped like a fire hydrant — litterbags and trash liners.  

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