Ultimate Creature Comforts
Pets Finding Increasingly Luxurious Gifts Under the Tree

By Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, December 22, 2007

Just because 2-year-old Ruben is a dog doesn't mean he can't send Christmas cards.

The Puggle from McLean, a cross between a pug and a beagle, has already mailed seasons greetings to his canine friends and signed them with a paw print. His mother -- that is, owner Mary Partlow Lauttamus -- is knitting him a striped scarf that she plans to put under the tree, along with a new doggy-sized red sweater. He's already received a box of homemade treats from his walker and a pull toy from a Brittany spaniel. And Santa Claus will drop off the piece de resistance: a new plush toy hedgehog with a distinctive squeak.

"Ruben is really a part of our family," Lauttamus said. "He's a good sport when it comes to all these things. He puts up with us."

This holiday season, retailers are catering more than ever to the desire to pamper pets. Responding to what they see as the growing humanization of pets, retailers are finding that there's great appeal in the kinds of gifts for pets that were once the sole domain of their owners, such as Christmas stockings, cashmere sweaters and educational toys.

"It's no longer comfortable to reward these animals in pet terms," said Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, a trade group. Now the thinking is, "My dog means so much to me that I have to give him something that means something to me," he said.

According to a recent APPMA survey, about 56 percent of dog owners and almost half of cat owners buy their pets Christmas gifts. Spending on pets is expected to reach $40.8 billion this year, almost double the amount spent in 1996.

Vetere said the growth is driven by two groups of pet owners -- empty-nest baby boomers and dual-income couples with no children -- who lavish their time, affection and disposable income on their animals. In this world, pets are people too.

Kartraice Hooper of the District cradled her 10-month-old Pomapoo, Noly, in her arms while shopping at Bloomingdale's in Chevy Chase last week during a holiday party for Juicy Couture's new line of canine-grooming products, Juicy Crittoure. Noly was stylishly dressed in a floral Elizabethan-style coat adorned with pearls. Hooper said she splurged on the $70 outfit the previous week.

"Is that bad?" she said, hugging her pooch. "It was getting cold, so I wanted to get her something."

Still, Hooper planned to buy another Christmas present for Noly -- maybe a heavier knit sweater, something more wintry. Her young nephew already bought Noly a bone.

"They're like our best friends," she said. "Besides ourselves, this is the only person we can spoil."

In the APPMA survey, Christmas ranked as the most popular holiday to give pets gifts. Though dogs and cats were the most likely recipients, 27 percent of bird owners also admitted to tucking a little something under the tree. Among people with reptiles, the number dropped to 10 percent.

Christmas is big business for stores such as a.k.a. Spot in Arlington, where Hooper bought Noly's coat and Lauttamus spent $150 on her Puggle's gifts. Popular items this season include a line of organic cotton toys called SimplyFido that sell for $16 each and a $52 doughnut-shaped dog bed available in more than 50 colors.

Many shoppers come into the store to buy presents for other people's pets, owner Lucy McCausland said. She obliges by wrapping the gift in candy-cane tissue paper and a red bow. Some customers even request that she take off the price tag.

"Like the dog's going to know what they spent," McCausland said.

At the Posh Pooch in Bethesda, pet presents don't just mimic those for humans -- they're one in the same.

One of the hottest gifts this Christmas has been a reversible blanket with rose-colored fabric on one side and optional faux fur on the other. It comes in several sizes, with the smaller ones designed for dogs and the larger version for their owners.

"Forget Fido, get one of these for yourself!" store owner Leslie Rosenthal said she wrote in a newsletter to customers.

Shoppers have also clamored for the Canine Genius line of enrichment toys, she said. The bottle-shaped toys hide treats that dogs can only reach by pulling and tugging in the correct order. Several toys can be linked together to make the puzzle more difficult for "your dog's individual problem-solving level," the Canine Genius Web site reads.

Rosenthal said some customers spend several thousand dollars at the Posh Pooch during the holidays, with one shopper buying fake pearl necklaces for all of the Labradors in her life. (The pearls are strung with wire to make them extra durable.) Rosenthal said the rush begins in October when cool weather sets in and lasts through the holidays.

"Everything that we have is pure luxury for dogs," she said. "Customers will walk in the front door and just scream, they're so excited."

But are our pets that excited? Can they recognize the difference between a pearl necklace and beat-up collar? Does it matter?

"He knows something is up because he's getting more treats than usual," Lauttamus said of Ruben.

Tracy Ryan, an associate professor of advertising research at Virginia Commonwealth University who has studied pet gifts, said owners have three main motivations, which mirror the roles we take on when giving to each other.

Most commonly, owners want to make their pets happy, or they feel a responsibility to provide for their pet's needs, she said. But a surprising minority of people gave gifts to compensate for a guilty conscience, such as not walking the pet enough or not being able to spend time with it.

Ryan also found that pet owners pay close attention to whether their friends and family include their treasured pup in their holiday lists. Gifts from others are signs that they understand and acknowledge the pet's role in the owner's life.

"If a dear friend or family member fails to give the pet a gift," she said, "well, let's just say it's noted."