Spending on pets up during lean economic times

Americans may be clipping money-saving coupons and delaying buying a new home, but when it comes to their pets they're spending more than ever, according to a new survey.

Between trips to the vet, specialty foods, treats and toys, pet insurance and even parties, Americans have no compunction about opening up their wallets.

Between two and five percent of pet owners said they spent more on their pets last year, according to the poll by the non-profit American Pet Products Association (APPA).

Americans are so concerned about their pets that 16 percent of dog owners and 13 percent of cat owners said their animal's medical treatment would take priority over their own.

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What will happen to the dog bakeries?

Wendell Cox, at Newgeography, has written an interesting examination of what happens when discretionary spending is jeopardized in a tough economy:
In a Financial Crisis What Happens to the Dog Bakeries?.

The article makes some good points. In the 1950's through 1970's people did not have money to spend on "extras" like we have today. There were no Starbucks, specialty bath products shops, candle stores, and certainly no dog bakeries.

So what will happen to these businesses now when most people are tightening those purse strings?

As the owner of a business, Internet Pet Supplies, which some might consider to be one of these "discretionary spending" areas, i.e. rawhide chews and toys for dogs, I'm watching the economy very carefully.

~ Thanks, Alex

Trouble is $10 million poorer

In papers that were unsealed June 16, Manhattan surrogate court judge Renee Roth, along with New York State’s Attorney General’s Office, reduced Leona Helmsley's dog Trouble’s trust fund from $12 million to $2 million.

The deal also entailed $6 million in payments to Helmsley’s two disinherited grandchildren, amid their allegations that Helmsley wasn’t mentally competent when she signed her will.

Trouble now will have to get by for the rest of her life on a measly $2 million.

Helmsley's will had asked that either her brother or grandson David Panzirer care for the dog, neither of them was interested, so Trouble is living in Florida with Carl Lekic, the general manager of the Helmsley Sandcastle Hotel.

Lekic says Trouble's annual expenses are around $190,000, which includes his $60,000 guardian fee, $100,000 for 'round-the-clock security, $8,000 for grooming, $3,000 for miscellaneous expenses, $1,200 for food and anywhere from $2,500 to $18,000 for medical care.

Source: NY Post

Lifestyles Of The Pets Of The Rich And Famous

When it was disclosed that Leona Helmsley had made her pet Maltese Trouble her biggest heir, leaving a $12 million trust fund for her pet, Forbes.com researched the spending habits of the very rich and their pets.

According to Russ Alan Prince, of Prince & Associates, who tracks the habits of the rich, wealthy people who love to lavish money on their pets spend $328,000 on their pets annually.

"Life enrichment" services for pets is the biggest spending category and includes stuff like deep-muscle massage, psychic readings, life coaching and "cosmic sensitivity," a sort of astrology. More than one-third of pet-obsessed owners spend in this category.

Special diets and meals prepared by celebrity chefs are also popular.

More than one quarter pet-focused owners spend more than $25,000 on their beloved pet's wardrobe.

If you thought child birthday parties were getting out of hand, imagine what it would be like to attend a $25,000 party for a pet. Sixteen percent of pet-focused owners in a recent survey are guilty of this.

More than 12% of pet-obsessed people send their lovies to a psychologist.

Six percent of pets fly around in private aircraft unescorted except for the flight crew, mostly being transported to their owner's vacation spot after their owner missed them too much.

57% of pet-focused owners had formal arrangements in place in the event they died before their pets, and 27% of them had a trust set up for their pet, to the tune of $526,000. Ninety percent of those trust arrangements distribute remaining funds to family once the pet dies.

Pet trusts aren't as crazy as they sound. Thirty-nine states, including New York, allow them, but restrict their durations. In N.Y., the term is 21 years.

Leona's Dog Gets $12 Million in Will

Leona Helmsley's dog will continue to live an opulent life, and then be buried alongside her in a mausoleum. But two of Helmsley's grandchildren got nothing from the late luxury hotelier and real estate billionaire's estate.

Helmsley left her beloved white Maltese, named Trouble, a $12 million trust fund, according to her will, which was made public Tuesday in surrogate court.

She also left millions for her brother, Alvin Rosenthal, who was named to care for Trouble in her absence.

"I direct that when my dog, Trouble, dies, her remains shall be buried next to my remains in the Helmsley mausoleum," Helmsley wrote in her will.

The mausoleum, she ordered, must be "washed or steam-cleaned at least once a year." She left behind $3 million for the upkeep of her final resting place in Westchester County, where she is buried with her husband, Harry Helmsley.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Jennifer Graylock