If you’re making up an early Christmas-shopping list and you’re one of those shoppers gung ho on the unusual, how about a limited-edition faux-jewel encrusted imperial bed covered in luxurious royal blue velvet and lined in gold velour for $350? Or maybe an $89.95 mink vest or one of the other delights mentioned below.

No they’re not for a friend or relative, or even for yourself, but a ritzy holiday gift for your dog.

It’s all part of a swelling canine invasion that’s sweeping the Big Apple and turning products, services, chow, and Christmas gifts for Lucky and Lucy into a thriving and growing $650 million-$700 million annual business in New York City.

Just ask Bash Dibra, dog trainer to the rich and famous, who charges $300 an hour for providing therapy or training to the canines of such well known New Yorkers as Sarah Jessica Parker, Henry Kissinger, Ralph Lauren, Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, and Jennifer Lopez.

Caring for man’s best friend is unquestionably a rapidly growing city industry, observes Mr. Dibra, whose therapy involves treating dogs with anxiety, rage, and emotional problems. All told, he sees about 40 dogs a week, which earns him a high six-figure annual income.

For the average New Yorker, big bucks on a lesser scale are also being shelled out for Lucky and Lucy. Take Mila (pronounced meal-uh), a 15-month-old golden retriever, now in her third six-week training course, dog valuation, after having graduated from the first two, puppy specialization and basic obedience. For her Upper East Side owner, investment banker Michael O’Hare of W.R. Hambrecht & Co., it’s an expenditure of $900 (or $300 per course).

But that’s just a morsel of his canine costs, which also include $45 a month (or $540 a year) for health insurance, $500 a year on various toys, about $200 a year on medical bills, $120 for a dog crate, $360 a year for food, and $40-$60 a night for boarding.

All told, Mr. O’Hare figures he spent about $3,500 on Mila over the past 12 months, excluding the $950 he paid to buy her. “The expenses never stop,” he said.

His costs are all part of canine economics – a booming business, ranging from dog-walking and dog-grooming to health care and pet foods – that caters to the owners of the city’s roughly 1 million dogs and is estimated to be growing 5% to 10% a year.

Adding to the city’s pooch population – which itself is estimated to be increasing 3% to 5% a year – is a growing number of pet-friendly new buildings. One, for example, is the Upper East Side’s first loft building that also includes a secluded puppy playground. Elizabeth Unger, director of sales for the building – located directly opposite Bloomingdale’s – believes the pet friendly feature has helped spur good sales activity. “I think this feature alone is drawing some buyers since many new buildings in the city don’t allow dogs,” she said.

According to the ASPCA, the annual cost of maintaining a Lucky average $420 for a small dog, $620 for a medium size, and $780 for a large pooch, although it can often run considerably higher in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The surge in the doggie business can be seen by its impact in the nation’s food stores, where pet foods now are usually accorded more shelf space than baby foods and by the introduction of increasingly more costly products and services.

Evidence of the growing lap of luxury to which Lucky and Lucy are being treated these days can be seen in the just-issued holiday catalog of Christmas gifts from In the Company of Dogs, Chelmsford, Mass., one of whose biggest customer bases is New York City. Aside from the two gifts mentioned above, some 300 products are featured in the 10-year-old catalog, among them:

• A 5th Avenue pet stroller with detachable carrier for $389.


• A $125 hand-forged wrought iron stand designed to alleviate neck strain and improve your pet’s indigestion.


• A large sofa bed with bolsters, throws, and orthopedic foam for comfort and support for $270.


• A personalized $69.95 antique sterling silver bracelet.

The catalog, its director Kim Kavanagh tells me, has enjoyed rising sales in each of its 10 years and is generating an annual volume of nearly $10 million. She notes, too, the catalog’s business is not only growing domestically, but internationally, as well.

Taking note of the growing number of pricey items being created for Lucky, Ms. Kavanagh observes that “when it comes to their pets, many dog lovers are willing to go the extra mile and spend as much as they would on their children, if not more,” she said. She speaks from experience, owning three dogs and spending, she estimates, about $10,000 a year on them.

Meanwhile, dog services, reflecting the city’s expanding canine population, continue to grow. The latest: a pet cemetery in Staten Island. To raise money, the St. Andrews church there will convert part of its adjacent real estate into a pet burial ground. The cost per plot: $500.