OnlineAthens.com | = Living | Dog, cat lovers stop at nothing to pamper their pals = 04/27/07

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Living

Dog, cat lovers stop at nothing to pamper their pals

Pet owners go ape

Story Photos - Click to Enlarge

=20

StaffPawtropolis employee=20 April Wexel throws the ball to the large dogs in their outside play area = Friday.=20 Pawtropolis provides daycare, boarding, obedience training, grooming, = adoptions,=20 a doggie spa, and a pet boutique.
Kelly Lambert / Staff =

Kelly Lambert / Staff =

Dude watches a television in one of = the Bed and=20 Biscuit Suites.
Kelly Lambert / Staff

Lauren Dooley grooms Eddie at = Pawtropolis.=20
Kelly Lambert / Staff

Cats relax in the Kitty City = room.
Kelly=20 Lambert / Staff

Click thumbnails to view

By: Beth jones | = beth.jones@onlineathens.com | Story updated at 8:37 PM on Thursday, April 26, = 2007=20

Tiki gets her hair and nails done every two weeks.

Tiki stays svelte eating grilled chicken and tuna.

Tiki's favorite way of spending a warm Georgia Saturday? Sunning by = the=20 pool.

Picturing a blonde, happy-go-lucky co-ed?

Nah. Our Tiki would require hours of electrolysis before any sorority = would=20 consider her.

Tiki is a 4-year-old black Labrador. Her pet mom is Leslie Kimbel, = one of=20 many local pet owners who demand the best for their animals and are = willing to=20 prove it with the Benjamins.

"Athens is a very pet-friendly town," said Amanda Rodriguez, the = owner of=20 Pawtropolis, which offers doggie daycare and a host of other pet = pampering=20 services. "People just love their pets here."

But it's not only the home of the dawgs that has gone to the = dogs.

Nationally, pet spending has more than doubled from $17 billion in = 1994 to a=20 projected $40.8 billion for 2007, according to the American Pet Products = Manufacturers Association.

Bob Vetere, president of APPMA, attributes the increase to = empty-nesting baby=20 boomers and young professionals who put off human children for their = careers -=20 two groups with lots of disposable income.

Rodriguez is betting her piggy bank the trend won't slow down any = time=20 soon.

She recently opened a brand new Pawtropolis building at 130 Whitetail = Way off=20 Atlanta Highway in western Clarke County after five years at a location = on=20 Athens West Parkway. The new digs allows Rodriguez to offer a host of = new ways=20 for owners to pamper their babies.

The doting daddy of a Pekingese no longer has to sit at his desk = wondering=20 whether or not little Tinkerbell is still obsessed with the portly fawn = pug. He=20 simply clicks open one of the Pawtropolis Web cams to see if she's still = following puggie everywhere he goes.

(Rodriguez cautions the Web cams can be addictive. "I will go ahead = and=20 apologize to all the bosses out there," she writes on her Web site).

At the new Pawtropolis, the Weimaraner and the Bearded Collie can = splash in=20 an underground wading pool while the Whippet and the Golden Retriever = frolic on=20 more than hundreds of dollars of new play equipment. (Price for a day of = doggie=20 daycare: $18).

Pawtropolis has traditional overnight boarding services ($28 a = night). And=20 the new facility now also offers luxury boarding for the more discerning = poochie. Bed and Biscuit suites ($40 a night) are private rooms with = amenities=20 like toddler beds tastefully decorated with cartoon character linens and = flat-screen televisions that play animal movies such as "Lady and the = Tramp."=20 Guest services include a "massage" petting session as well as a cuddle = with a=20 staff member who reads the pampered pooch a good-night story.

With everything she offers, Rodriguez still has clients who ask for = even more=20 VIP treatment for their pets - and she delivers. One owner brought her a = picture=20 illustrating how to properly mix her dog's food. One Dachshund needs to = be=20 tucked in at naptime.

Sara Epstein opened her business Z-Dog Bakery and Pet Supply on = Jefferson=20 Road more than a year ago to cater to pet owners who believe their = Cocker=20 Spaniel deserves human-grade food. The bakery uses organic flour and = oats and=20 free-range eggs for its doggie treats ($5 for a dozen peanut butter dog=20 treats).

More customers have found their way to Z-Dog since the recent = widespread pet=20 food recall.

"For many of us, dogs are our children - our family," Epstein writes = on her=20 Web site. "So we want them to live healthy and happy lives for as long = as they=20 possibly can."

Epstein had a full house of pets and their owners in February when = the bakery=20 hosted a pet photographer. "It was packed," she said.

On Saturday, her store will again serve as a pet photo studio from 12 = to 3=20 p.m. Photos are $17 and proceeds go to Athens Canine Rescue.

Rebekah Rogers has made fine animal portraits of Athens pets for 13 = years.=20 Her workload varies, but she averages about one portrait a week (prices = range=20 from $75 to about $500 depending on the size of the piece and number of = animals=20 included in the artwork).

Some of her customers want a portrait to remember a beloved companion = who has=20 died. Others simply think there's no better way to decorate their abode = than=20 with the image of their darling Beagle Betsy.

"Some people just want to show their love for dogs," Rogers said.

An APPMA survey of pet owners found 27 percent of dog owners and 13 = percent=20 of cat owners buy their pets birthday presents. And local pet stores = offer=20 plenty of goodies for purchase: frilly pink dresses, yellow rain = slickers,=20 rhinestone tiaras and $150 doggie strollers for pooches too refined to = hoof it=20 on their own.

Rodriguez thinks there's a market for even more pet services in = Athens. She's=20 launching a new pet taxi service. Now Pawtropolis employees will drive = to your=20 house, pick up your German Shepherd and cart her to the vet for vaccines = or to=20 Grandma's house.

Kimbel, a 45-year-old nurse manager for VistaCare Hospice, says she = could=20 have bought a house with the money she's spent on Tiki over the years, = but it's=20 a small price to pay considering how much joy Tiki brings to her = life.

"She deserves it," Kimbel explained.

Published in the = Athens=20 Banner-Herald on 042707

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Dog, cat lovers stop at nothing to pamper their pals

Pet owners go ape

Story Photos - Click to Enlarge

Click thumbnails to view

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