Birthday parties for pooches are a growing trend

DALLAS — Sparkling in rhinestones, the birthday girl preened prettily in pink, from her pearls to her new party dress, with her leash snapped onto the dainty little loop on the back.

It was Precious Alexis "Lexie" Liles' first birthday, and her mom, Sharon Liles of Plano, Texas, was going all-out with Happy Birthday Princess balloons, streamers and "pup" cakes at Foxy Paws Dog Boutique & Bakery.

Owner Michelle Lamont has been catering to the tastes of demanding dogs and their doting humans for a decade now, starting first with a gourmet dog-treat company and later with the store, which opened in Plano in 2001. They moved to a new space in the same mall in April and added their Barking Birthday Center in May.

You would think that someone whose bestsellers include crystal letter pendants, piggy-pooch dog costumes, slide-on rhinestone letters and hot-dog costumes with mustard would have seen it all. But Lamont admits to being surprised by how quickly parties have been booked by owners.

Lamont sold five dog cakes the first week she opened her center and 36 cakes in the first four weeks; Lexie's party was her third of the day. Party packages range from $39.99 to $164.99 (which includes cake, hats, balloons, personalized goodie bags, a disposable camera and more).

Such parties are part of a growing trend, according to the American Pet Products Association. That group's 2009-10 National Pet Owners Survey says that about 7 percent of dog owners hold holiday or birthday parties for their pets. That's up from 6 percent before 2008. And the association projects that those numbers will keep growing even through the recession, as overall pet spending hits $45.4 billion this year.

Even so, the Foxy Paws parties are relatively lavish. The association notes that 80 percent of pet owners, or about 36 million, buy their pets an average of five gifts a year, at $9 per gift. That wouldn't cover Liles' $64.99 plan, to which she added a $24.99 birthday shirt for Lexie.

Still, for Liles, 60, the party was a chance to celebrate an adored Yorkshire terrier whom she has nursed from a 9-ounce pup to her current, full-grown 3 pounds, 10 ounces.

With her two daughters grown and married, Liles admits to having been lonely when her husband, Bob, 62, was away on business trips. But all that changed when Lexie began romping around, at one point claiming one of Liles' purses for her own. Liles has a picture in her wallet of a grinning Lexie, her head peeking out of a pocket of that purse.