Doggie Doting

And the hundreds of ways you can do it if you’ve got the cash

Daisy and Alfred are no ordinary couple. After a $600 trip to a spa, including a jacuzzi, tea wraps and a massage each, they are off for a yoga session with a private instructor. That doesn’t sound excessive, one might think. But Daisy and Alfred are designer Marc Jacobs’ bull terriers.

Ask my family and friends and they’ll tell you that I’m all for Marc spoiling his pets. I don’t see the care given to pets as ‘spoiling’ them. Instead, I consider any ‘excess’ care to be ‘pampering’; after all, a dog holds the esteemed position of being ‘man’s best friend’. Pet-obsessed individuals like myself have inspired limitless designer animal-friendly lifestyle products meant for ‘spoiling’ a pet dog.

If you thought Paris Hilton’s well-dressed Chihuahua Tinkerbelle was the only one with designer clothing and jewellery, think again. Closer home, designer Masaba Gupta’s pug Luka wears his very own customised camera-print ties and has loads of designer accessories to choose from.

Roberto Cavalli Designer Pet Couture has become a rage all over the world. The collection includes a variety of elaborate satin bathrobes, silk shorts and velour tracksuits priced at $1,200. The designers at Hartman & Rose have created a $725 mink fur coat for dogs, a status symbol to let everyone know yours is a pedigree pup and not some flea-ridden mongrel. The best part: PETA can’t dump a bucket of paint on a dog wearing fur.

My dog Muslin, before he left for his heavenly abode, had customised clothing from Kallol Datta 1955 and Pero. Seeing him look dapper, I understood why people indulged in designer clothes, diamond collars, luxurious beds and accessories for their dogs.

Most of us treat our dogs with a humble home-cooked meal or packaged dog food. So it was a surprise when I came across a phenomenon of some sort that involved home-cooked pet meals by celebrated chefs being delivered to your door.

Executive chef Kevyn Matthews, no stranger in the culinary world, got his love for dogs from his father, who taught him how powerful that love could be. His dogs passed away from heart attacks, overweight thanks to low quality dog food. He started studying what dogs truly need to thrive, working with holistic veterinarians to get answers to his many questions. After seven years of intense research, his company, The Dog Chef, was born. The Dog Chef has designed custom meal plans for a variety of ailments, including cancer and kidney failure, with great success, using only the freshest local organic ingredients. And here I thought that my doggie treats were fancy.

Why should your dog sleep on some old rug that you macraméd in design school or make your dog eat out of an ordinary bowl when you can spend India’s GDP on the new Louis XV Pet Pavilion for $23,990 with a $3,000 22K Gold-Thread Pet Mattress and the 22K gold leafed Versace Barocco Pet Bowl for $1,000? In the maddening city noise of Delhi where things seem chaotic and morose, a lush farm house in Chhattarpur has been converted into a beautiful, luxurious five-star boarding house for dogs. I used to take Muslin there for a Sunday swim, and agility and obedience training. Muslin often challenged founder Sonya Kochhar on the obedience part. Usually, team Bhushan won in brattiness.

I left Muslin with Sonya for a month while I was on a trip to Europe. During his stay, he was given his very own luxurious suite, a gourmet meal delivered to his room, games, toys, a personal trainer, massage therapist and custom-made designer dog bed. Their experienced trainers and handlers dealt with my American Cocker Spaniel’s mood swings with great finesse. Doggie birthday parties were a regular affair, and he made friends with other adorable pooches. The best personal touch was that I was updated with his picture every day, and could Skype with him once in a while so he could make sure I was okay!

Diamonds are a sign of luxury and elegance, but dogs don’t know that. Only humans do, since we’re the ones who invented those connotations in the first place. If you’ve got a few million dollars worth of jewels and lot of spare time, it’s only natural you’d have a $4.2 million dog collar made for your dog. I surely fall into the ‘If you have to ask, you can’t afford it’ income range. I imagine no matter what you spend on this million dollar dog treat, it will surely go completely unnoticed by the little guy—but unless he’s chewing the dangly necklace into pieces, it will surely bring a million dollar smile to his owner’s face. Is Mrs Ambani taking note?

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