Not Spoiled, really!

POOCHES IN S. FLA. LAPPING UP LUXURY
From diamond necklaces to happy hour, many South Floridians admit to spoiling their pets as they would their children.
BY NICOLE WHITE
nwhite@MiamiHerald.com

Every Sunday evening, in the courtyard of a very swanky South Beach hotel, Nasdaq, Pancho and Bimini frolic as their owners exchange puppy tidbits while sipping on Dalmatian martinis and Pomeranian punch. Close by, Abbey, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel -- a local celebrity among the dog set -- has her book signings.

Happy hour here at the Hotel Victor has literally gone to the dogs.

Each morning in Key West, Holly, a sandy-colored cocker spaniel, strolls into the kitchen and laps up her daily dose of warm café con leche until the mug is doggie-bone dry. By nightfall, a robust cut of steak sits in her ceramic plate, warmed just so.

''I know, I know, she's spoiled but I can't help it,'' says owner Carol Simeon.

South Florida's humans, and much of the nation, are in the throes of a love affair with their dogs, who now outnumber newborns 14 to one in Miami-Dade County.

There are birthday parties and ''bark'' mitzvahs that are meticulously planned, replete with three-tiered cakes, kosher paté, party hats and favors, fine linens, candlelight, crystal dishes and soft music.

Even personalized wine labels for a preferred pooch, as advertised in the latest issue of Modern Dog.

There are trips to the spa, doggie daycare, layers of health insurance, designer clothing, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Juicy Couture bags, pastel-colored strollers, Italian leather beds, playpens, organic foods.

This year, Americans will spend $38 billion on their pets, more than double the $17 billion spent a decade ago, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association. Nearly six million Americans throw a soiree for their favorite cat, dog, fish or tarantula each year.

Kitty furball cough? Doggie depression?

Americans spent $160 million on pet insurance in 2005, compared with just $61.9 million in 2001, says Brian D. Iannessa, a spokesman with Veterinary Pet Insurance, one of the largest providers of pet insurance in the country. VPI sends a birthday card to each of its insured pets.

South Florida, with hundreds of thousands of cats and dogs registered in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties, has contributed handsomely to those national numbers.

THIRD IN NATION

Florida also ranks third in the nation in the number of dogs with medical insurance, according to Iannessa of VPI Pet Insurance.

''Our dogs have increasingly become an extension of ourselves,'' said Bob Vetere, president of the American Pet Products Manufacturing Association.

''I have been to a dog wedding where one dog had a tuxedo, the other a wedding dress. It was hysterical, but quite an innovative way for pets and owners to get together,'' Vetere said.

Not everyone lauds this level of extravagance. On their walks in Pembroke Pines with their miniature pocket pinschers Ginger Snap and Lulu Marie -- tucked inside their pink and red strollers -- Nicole Penny admits that she and and her husband, Sean, have been the subject of a few caustic stares.

'We've had one or two crazy looks from people who were probably saying to themselves, `What the hell are you thinking?' '' Penny said.

And Eric Nathal concedes his wife Mina's treatment of Pancho, an Italian greyhound, can be over the top.

''I think he's way too spoiled. She never reprimands, there's no discipline, he does anything he wants,'' says Nathal.

But for a peaceful life, Nathal says he's learned to give in.

The love affair, in particular for smaller dogs -- made popular by Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and other celebrities -- has had its drawbacks as demand rises.

A lawsuit recently was filed against the Pembroke Pines-based Wizard of Claws shop after several dog owners complained that the dogs purchased at the store fell ill.

Illnesses among the pups that sell for as much as $5,000 include some that develop from breeding puppies within the same family.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has launched an investigation.

Jim Anderson, whose wife Gilda owns the store, has denied selling sick puppies.

Meanwhile, the pampering has spawned a cottage industry of new entrepreneurs. One, Lisa Balaam, has collaborated with Abbey the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, on a book about Abbey's jaunts on the Miami Beach boardwalk.

`LIKE OUR BABIES'

Others dream up new products, such as jeweled collars, lavish body creams and novelty T-shirts, and sell them through local stores.

''Many of these products come from people I sold pups to,'' says Eleanora Bonfini, owner of Tea Cups Puppies and Boutiques, a shop in Hollywood that's filled with canopy beds, designer dog carriers and jeweled collars.

''The industry is booming because they're like our babies, and we want to treat them like we would treat our children,'' Bonfini said.

For some, like Nicole and Sean Penny, they are just that -- a test run for parenthood.

''For us this was not as intense as having a kid,'' said Nicole Penny. ``We decided we would test the waters with Ginger Snap [and Lulu] first.''

Vetere says the empty-nest syndrome experienced by baby boomers and divorcees also has fueled the boom in pet ownership and pampering.

''A lot of pet owners are filling a void in their lives and they can afford to spend more,'' says Vetere.

``Marketers recognize that we make the purchasing decisions and that's why so many of the products are the things we want for ourselves -- organic foods, trips to the spa, even nail polish.''

Many owners see their dogs as an extension of themselves and shop accordingly -- from punk-rocker wear to hip-hop chic.

''We're like Neiman Marcus; we sell everything you'd love to have if you were a dog,'' said Steve Cohen, owner of Dog Bar, a shop with locations in Miami Beach and Coral Gables where you can buy organic food, a gold rock-star-inspired jacket or a $1,000 Italian leather bed for your dog.

The excess, a devilish off-shoot of owning a pet, has become shamefully addictive many admit.

''I got caught up, gone way overboard,'' says Nicole Penny.

But Ginger Snap and Lulu Marie, and their affinity for all things pink and red, are, she says, ``the greatest thing that ever happened to us! Besides my husband, of course.''