- Pampered pets cost owners $25,000
- Vet outlay is the biggest annual cost
- Owners also spend $12,000 on treats
GOURMET meals, personal trainers, designer accessories and regular bouts of beauty treatment - never before has a dog's life been so close to human.
However living in the lap of four-legged luxury does not come cheap, a new survey of Australian pet owners has confirmed.
The Bankwest study found NSW dog owners spend an average of more than $25,000 on their pooches over their lifetime - and that doesn't include the initial purchase price.
Daily meals account for almost half the total cost and along with vet bills it is luxuries such as Christmas presents, sunglasses, "doggycino" drinks and puppy perfumes that send costs soaring.
And it seems Victorians are no different with pampered pooches costing an average family $2370 every year.
They're eating their way through half of the total spent, with owners forking out $1200 on gourmet treats and dog food.
The "Family Pooch Index" survey also revealed outlays at the veterinary clinic are the next biggest expense at an average $450 a year.
Close on the tail of vet spending is a support team of groomers, walkers, dieticians and trainers, between them taking $405 a year from owners.
All this amounts to a $24,000 bill over an average 10-year canine lifespan in Victoria, not counting an initial $647 purchase price for a pup.
Overall, almost all owners said their dogs were part of the family, half of them doggedly admitting they were equally as important as their human young.
Schoolteacher Lee Fairbairn, from Lake Macquarie in NSW, is one owner happy to part with her cash to keep her four-legged friends happy.
Her two shih tzu-cross pooches Pepper and Bella each enjoy $50 grooming sessions every 4-6 weeks, $30 touch-ups in between, meals of mince and expensive liver treats.
"They're like my babies," she said. "They're such good company."
The research also addressed some of the psychological aspects of dog ownership and found that the main reason families give up on pets is because they're too messy.
Gen Y owners pay the most to keep their dogs, but more than a tenth of them say it's their parents who pay for the costs.
The research also revealed birds cost $810 a year to look after and cats $1772 each year.
The March survey involved 735 pet owners.
Source: The Herald Sun (May 05, 2010)
