Pets being treated to more parties, presents these days

By Melissa Kossler Dutton

Published: May 5, 2008

When his dog turned 1, Andy Frietze wanted to do more than throw Ecko a bone. He threw him a birthday party.

The two-hour party included dog-friendly cupcakes, treat bags and presents.

"He loved it,” said Frietze, 35, of El Paso, Texas, who owns three red Doberman pinschers. "He was wagging his tail when everybody sang ‘Happy Birthday' to him.”

Canine birthday parties, puppy showers and doggie play dates are growing in popularity. An industry has burgeoned around pet owners — particularly empty nesters or young couples without children — who savor opportunities to spoil their pets.

Spending on pets doubled between 1994 and 2004, when Americans laid out $34 billion; last year, it was $41 billion, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association in Greenwich, Conn.

Association President Bob Vetere said specialty products are the fastest-growing segment in pet products.

Pet boutiques and online retailers offer a variety of birthday party items including custom invitations, birthday cakes and doggy favors. Some sites offer ideas for party games such as bobbing for biscuits, homemade agility courses and dog treat treasure hunts.

Sales at Natalie Marquardt's pet bakery, which specializes in painting dog portraits on cakes, are increasing by "leaps and bounds,” the San Diego business owner said. Four years ago, she sold three or four custom cakes a month through her Web site, MyBestFriend

PetTreats.com. She now ships 50 to 100 each month.

She estimates 75 percent of them are for birthday parties.

Lisa Pallardy, who sells pet greeting cards over the Internet at BarkTalk.com, said her business has grown steadily since she started it three years ago. Birthday party invitations are one of her best-sellers. (Sample cards say "We're Having a Paw-ty!” and "Oh What Fun, Our Puppy's One.”)

"I have seen a dramatic increase just in the last six months in the popularity of pet birthdays,” said Pallardy of Mapleton, Ill. "There's no societal stigma about spoiling your dog like there is with children. Children have to become responsible citizens. Your dog's just going to be your baby.”

Almost 30 percent of dog owners bought their pooch a birthday present in 2006, according to a survey commissioned by the pet products association to track spending habits of the nation's 71.1 million pet-owning households. Six percent of the sample population said they threw their dogs parties that year.

For many pet owners, the parties and presents are ways to thank the animals for the joy they bring to the household.

Ashley Polston, 27, and Amit Bakshi, 29, of San Jose, Calif., have a dog named Max. They started a dog play group.

"Max is a great addition to our family,” Polston said. "He is energetic and always happy, traits which I aspire to have.”

When Max turned 1, she and Bakshi invited friends for a luau-theme birthday party. All the four-legged guests received Hawaiian-print bandanas with their names embroidered on them.

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