BoomerGirl Diary

Charlotte, N.C. — Even as the economy lags, pet owners across the Carolinas are continuing to pamper their four-legged friends and pet businesses keep growing.

Wife-and-husband owners Sherri and Mark Schalk started their mobile pet grooming company last April. A year later, Aussie Pet Mobile of Charlotte, part of a franchise, grooms nearly 200 pets a month from the University City area to Waxhaw. Services cost $65 and up. Some larger animals cost $150.

Plans are in the works to add a third van soon, said Sherri Schalk — and research shows that their business can grow even more. "We are committed to eventually going to six vans," she said.

When it comes to their spending, some owners will live selflessly yet indulge in their pets.

Kim Macfarlan slept in her car during a volunteer trip to New Orleans to help pets stranded in Hurricane Katrina. Yet Macfarlan, 46, won't think of letting her beloved boxer Kersee sleep on the hardwoods of their Dilworth, N.C., home. On a recent morning, Macfarlan placed a down comforter on the floor for Kersee to lay on while her dog bed was being washed.

Kersee's special treatment extends to special coats and sweaters (costing up to $20 apiece), an acrylic portrait of the boxer, complete with a crown "because she's such a princess" ($800), and recent portraits by Charlotte-based pet portraits photographer Donna Foster ($1,500). Macfarlan guesses she spends $5,000 annually on her companion of 11 years.

"All she's ever known is a good life," laughs Macfarlan, a technology consultant.

"If you have a dog — and most of my dog owner friends agree — they should be part of the family."

Americans will spend 43.4 billion this year on their pets, predicts the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. That's up 5 percent from 2007.

Pet spending in Mecklenburg County, N.C., alone reached nearly $169.2 million in 2007, up 11 percent from 2006, according to market research firm Claritas. By 2012, Claritas predicts Mecklenburg pet owners' spending will grow another 41 percent.

About 63 percent of all households in the United States have a pet, according to a 2007-2008 survey by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. That includes about 75 million dogs and 85 million cats.

To be sure, the economic pinch may be causing some on the economic margins to give up their pets. Owner surrenders at the shelter operated by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Animal Care and Control have gone up 3 percent in the first three months of this year compared to the same months last year — though officials say not all of those surrenders are due to economic reasons.

But in most of the country, particularly the Charlotte region, pets maintain a broad appeal across all types of families. Pet industry experts say they are now especially big with singles, childless couples and empty nesters.

More and more owners are also planning for their pets' care in the event they outlive their furry friends. In 2005, laws enacted in North Carolina and South Carolina allow for pet trusts, a legal arrangement ensuring pet's care and financial future should the owner die or become disabled.

For Mike Ege of Cornelius, N.C., who adopted his Beagle mix Bailey four years ago after finding him at a gas station in Mooresville, N.C., a trust seemed like a natural move for the dog. So with an attorney's help, Ege wrote instructions leaving Bailey to his "nanny" — close family friend Mary Waddell — along with "a fairly decent chunk of money to take care of the dog."

Wendy Pavel, 47, and husband Barry, 49, both graphic designers in Denver, N.C., share their household with two cats and two bunnies. They made many trips recently to their "exotic pet" vet in Kannapolis, N.C., about 33 miles away, for bunny Madison's dental work. "$1000+ later, we still love our bunnies, but the credit card is smoking!" Wendy Pavel wrote via e-mail.

"We do spend an awful lot on them," she said by phone later.

"I don't get my hair cut or nails done, but I'll drive 40 miles to Mooresville for their treats."

At Canine Cafe Charlotte on South Tryon Street in SouthEnd, which has a bakery on the premises for creative dog treats, owners Meredith Thompson Greer and Barbara Burg are still selling 8 to 10 all-natural cakes a day, with ingredients including nonfat yogurt, unbleached flour, eggs, and frosting made with cream cheese and vegetable shortening. The popular bone-shaped cake goes for $21.

"It's an interesting time right now," said Thompson Greer. "Sometimes they'd rather sacrifice something for themselves than their pet."

Tease photo by Richard Mushet.