Lots of dog owners want pampered dogs, just like lots of parents want spoiled kids ("I want to give them all the stuff I never had...").
According to the APPMA statistics on spending("Pet Industry Statistics and Trends"), Americans spent 34.4 billion dollars on their pets in 2004, which means pet-related spending has doubled in the last 10 years in the US.
The APPMA's reported the following breakdown for the areas in which money is spent on pets (2004 figures for the US)
$14.2 billion for food
$8.1 billion for supplies and OTC medications
$8.2 billion for veterinarian care
$1.6 billion for live animal purchases
$2.31 billion for other services such as grooming and boarding
