Giving Your Pet a Gift? You’re In Good Company

ABC News on Campus reporter Allison Ignacio blogs from Austin,Texas:

You may not find them on Santa’s list but plenty of pets will receive gifts this year. Whether they’re cats or dogs, naughty or nice, people are sharing the spirit of the season with their beloved animals. 

According to a recent Associated Press-Petside.com poll, 52 percent of pet owners are planning on buying presents for their pets this holiday season, up nine percent from last year despite the economic downturn.

That’s no surprise to Melissa Lee, 21, at student at the University of Texas-Austin who lives with a 5-month-old German Shepherd puppy named Kaiser.

In her one-bedroom apartment you’ll find a Christmas tree decorated with German Shepherd ornaments as well as stockings hanging over the fireplace, one personalized with a gold “K” — for Kaiser, of course.

Lee says that she doesn’t want her best friend and roommate to miss out on any of her holiday traditions.

“When its Christmas time you buy presents for your best friends and your family and really dogs are both of those things,” she said. “He’s really my best friend so I want him to get a present too because he loves me all year long.”

From a plush duck to candy-cane striped raw hide bones, Lee has planned for every part of Kaiser’s first Christmas. “I got Kaiser a bunch of treats and toys and I got him a special canned meal so that he can have Christmas dinner too when everyone else gets special food.”

Pet owners can shop from a wide variety of pet presents available at pet specialty stores. From simple red and green bones to more ornate squeak toys that look like Santa or his reindeer, the choices are seemingly endless.

"I think what the economy has really shown this year, is that people really view pets as part of their family," said  Jessica Whit, spokesperson for Petsmart, a nationwide pet retail chain. “We have holiday toys and treats and for the past few weekends we've had Santa here to take pictures. It's $9.95 for a photo and collectable frame. $5 of it goes to Petsmart charities."

In Houston, Texas, PETCO Assistant Manager Lucy Herrera said more of the holiday toys have been selling than the regular toys. 

"There is definitely an increase in people buying stuff for their pets even with everything going on — it hasn't slowed," she said. "They're still going to make sure that their pets are taken care of above all else."

Pet owners are also celebrating Hanukah. Earlier this month Mack Schaffer, a 21-year-old student at the University of Texas at Austin, decided to buy his 9-month-old Shih-Tzu Brooks several Hanukah-themed toys. “I feel like he deserves a present a little bit earlier,” he said.

“Growing up in a family that celebrated both Hanukah and Christmas I really enjoyed the holiday season because I always got a present and I feel like my dog should also be in the holiday spirit and know that every year he’ll get presents just for being a good boy.”