• BY MELINDA
GREENBERG

WHEN MARTY
C ELEBRATED
HIS FOURTH
birthday, his parents gave
him a special comb. His
younger brother was given
a stuffed mouse so he
wouldn't feel left out.
Samantha received a pink
and white fleece warmup
suit before surgery and a
hospital stay. Archie's aunt
and uncle sent him gourmet
popcorn and miniature
bagels for Valentine's Day.
While the occasions and
the gifts were different, the
recipients' responses were
the same. They all wagged
their tails.

52 STYLE

Gone are the days when
the only gifts for dogs and
cats were rawhide chews
and spools of yarn. Today,
there are gourmet biscuits,
videotapes, and even gold
jewelry for Fido and Fluffy.
Unusual pet products
have become so popular, in
fact, that recently Macy's
opened the "Petigree
Shop" in its New York
Herald Square store.
According to the New
York-based American Pet
Product Manufacturers
Association, in 1990 pet
owners spent $2 billion on
their pets, for everything
but food. (In 1989, $7.9

billion was spent on pet
food.)
Detroit pet owners were
the first to test out a coupon
book, "Pets and Their
People," in spring 1991.
Sold for $15 as a charity
fund-raiser, the books offer
about $5,000 in rebates on
services and products for
pets, as well as facts and
trivia about pets.
The Troy-based Entertain-
ment Publications, Inc.,
which has also published
books of entertainment
coupons, entered into the
pet market after their
telemarketing research
revealed that interest in pets

was on the rise.
"There was a need for us
to service the pet industry,"
said Tricia Cecile, the
account executive in charge
of "Pets and Their People."
"There
is
definitely
increased interest and
awareness in pet care."
The coupon book will be
distibuted in Columbus,
Ohio, next year, and
Entertainment Publications
hopes to have it in other
cities as well, Ms. Cecile
said.
While every dog may
have his day, the '90s prom-
ise to be the decade of the
cat.