LOOK AT THOSE EYES ... COULD YOU DENY THEM ANYTHING?; IT'S EASIER THAN EVER TO TREAT OUR PAMPERED PETS LIKE PART OF THE FAMILY.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

Your boss was on a rampage today. The phone never stopped ringing. Lunch was a candy bar from the vending machine. And traffic crawled all the way home.

But the minute you open the door, you know there'll be somebody there to give you a big, wet smooch, listen to your problems and offer as much cuddling as you can handle.

And he's got a cold, wet nose and a wagging tail, too. Or maybe a throaty purr and a way of curling around your legs that makes the rest of the world recede for a few hours.

For many of us, beset by life's troubles and travails, our pets are a haven, a refuge, a place of peace and solace.

``It used to be that pets were called pets,'' said Bill Schoolman, executive director of the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association. ``Then they were `companion animals.' Now, they're part of the family.''

Just like our human children, we take their pictures, enroll them in (obedience) schools, dress them in cute outfits. We buy them the best food we can afford, hire doctors to soothe their ailments. And, at the end of life's journey, we buy a cemetery plot and headstone to memorialize them.

To keep these furry, feathered or finned friends happy, Americans shell out at least $27 billion annually. Is it all worth it? You bet, say pet lovers everywhere.

``Our pets fill our lives with love,'' said psychotherapist Sherry Gantman of Tarzana. ``And they teach us simplicity. It just doesn't take that much to make a pet happy, and you recognize that for yourself as well. They teach us how to love in the very simplest way.''

Fully 58.2 million households, or 58.9 percent of U.S. families, include a pet. More than 112 million dogs, cats and other assorted animals fill our lives, according to a 1997 survey of pet owners by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

A need for four-footed companionship isn't a modern trend; people have owned pets for centuries. The first dogs, besides providing companionship, helped early man track wild game and herd sheep. Early domestic cats were regarded by the Egyptians as gods; later, they were sought-after mouse-catchers on farms and ships.

In today's society, animal experts say, pets may provide a primal connection with nature at a time when people are growing more isolated from each other. Many people are marrying and having families later, or not at all, and for singles, pets can provide something - somebody - to come home to. For empty-nesters whose children are grown and on their own, pets can offer a chance to nurture again. And for elderly people, pets can provide a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to take a walk, to stay active.

``Pets are taking a much more important role in people's lives than just being the family dog,'' said Mark Davis, administrator of Veterinary Referral Associates in Gaithersburg, Md., sometimes referred to as the Mayo Clinic of veterinary hospitals. ``Pets fill a void.''

Pet projects

For some of us, in fact, our pets are our best friends.

Or, as auto detailer Ron Costello of Woodland Hills - owner of two dogs, a cat, two tortoises and an iguana - puts it, ``Your dog'll never do you wrong.''

How could you provide less than the best for such a friend? This widespread affection for pets is a marketing analyst's dream.

It's a $20 billion a year business for what the U.S. Census Bureau says in 1992 totaled 87,000 pet retail stores.

And the nationwide bill for veterinary care rose from $4.9 billion in 1991 to more than $7 billion in 1996, according to the AVMA.

Where there are willing spenders, you will find eager entrepreneurs, and the pet industry has been joined by many. Among them are purveyors of pet journals, pet greeting cards, pet sitting, pet Web sites, pet day care, pet medical advice, pet breeding and pet naming.

You'll find the most devoted - or fanatical - pet owners at pet shows and entering pet contests such as the Friskies PetCare Co.'s ``Friskiest Cat in America'' photo contest or Purina Dog Chow's ``America's Most Incredible Dog'' contest. The rewards: a hefty supply of food for the pet and up to $10,000 for its owner.

And if you can't find it in a specialty pet store or on the Internet, surely one of the nation's pet super stores, each stocked with more than 10,000 items, will have something to satisfy even the most finicky four-legged friend.

While animals around the house are nothing new, this expansion of the pet retail market is a recent phenomenon.

Phoenix-based PetSmart Inc. started in 1987 as a two-store chain. Twelve years later, it's the No. 1 pet retailer in sales, raking in $1.3 billion in the first 11 months of 1998 at 532 stores in 45 U.S. states, Canada and England.

San Diego-based Petco, the No. 2 pet retailer, started with one store in 1965 and now has 465 locations in 37 states that did $188.6 million in sales in 1995.

``People want their companions to be happy,'' said Petco spokesman Don Cowan. ``They pamper them. As a result, a lot of money is being spent on pets.''

Good enough for Fido?

Opening day at Three Dog Bakery in Old Pasadena was a testament to man's weakness for his best friend.

Tasty treats are the product of the Kansas City, Mo.-based operation that opened its 16th branch in Pasadena on Jan. 30 at the One West Colorado pedestrian mall. And nearly 4,000 people and 800 dogs came the first day to sample the goodies, said co-owner Mark Bodnar.

``It was shoulder-to-shoulder and haunch-to-haunch,'' Bodnar joked. ``When we opened, Pasadena went to the dogs.''

Three Dog Bakery - founded in 1992 by Mark Beckloff, an ex-accountant, and Dan Dye, a former copywriter - specializes in dog treats made from ingredients humans can enjoy, too. Seven years later, the duo has licensed 15 stores across the country, and plans to open another 10 in the next two months, including one March 6 in West Hollywood.

Owners are encouraged to bring their dogs in so they can pick out their own treats and chow down right in the store. On the menu at each Three Dog Bakery are treats like Boxer Brownies and Bulldog Bars ($3 each) and Pup Tarts (50 cents). For $200, an owner can buy his dog a specially made, sugarless birthday cake. Within a few months, the bakeries will also offer $2 servings of pet ice cream with a yogurt base.

And all of it is healthful, of course.

``People are eating healthier,'' said Beckloff, ``and we think it's a way to show their dogs that they care about their health, too.''

The Three Dog chefs are working on perfecting cat treats, but ... well, cats are more finicky about taste than dogs, Beckloff said.

That's the problem Bob Ditchik is trying to solve at his Pet Greetings firm, based in Westlake Village. The company makes rawhide greeting cards - available for $2 at many pet stores and veterinarians' offices - that dogs love to chew on, but he hasn't been able to perfect a card that appeals to cats.

``We're working on it, though,'' he said. ``People want to have treats for all their animals. That's why people like our cards. With a regular card, the owner reads it, but the dog gets nothing. With our card, the dog gets to eat it.''

An animal lover, Ditchik said his one regret is that constant business travel keeps him from having a dog.

``It's pretty empty when you get home,'' he said. ``There's something about a pet that brings a feeling that somebody's there waiting for you.''

Taking care

Maybe someone will open a pet rental service that'll deliver a pet of your choice to your home to greet you with loving kisses when you return from a long trip. Sound far-fetched? Maybe. But if pet lovers demand it, you know someone out there will one day offer it.

Who knew 20 years ago that the human obsession with pets would spawn pet sitters? It didn't take long for the 2,800 licensed, bonded sitters in the United States, Canada, England and a few European countries to organize themselves into a group called Pet Sitters International.

``Your pet is your surrogate kid, so why wouldn't you hire a professional to take care of it?'' said Kay Calzolari, spokeswoman for the North Carolina-based organization. ``Used to be, if you were away from home, you'd hire the kid down the street to feed the dog, but that kid has grown up and turned pet-sitting into a profitable business.''

About 30 percent of pet owners hire sitters when they're away from home, Calzolari said. That translates into 13.5 million home visits a year, most at a rate of $12 to $15 a visit - a $162 million to $202.5 million annual business.

(Pet owners can avoid a pet sitter's bill for the day on June 25 by observing Take Your Dog to Work Day, sponsored by PSI.)

And all this spending doesn't end when it's time to tell our pets that final goodbye.

When death comes, many people provide their pet one final bit of pampering with a satin-lined coffin and burial at Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas, Southern California's oldest pet cemetery.

Since 1928, more than 40,000 pets have been buried on rolling hills covered with animal sculptures, stuffed animals, pet toys, flowers and colorful whirligigs. Those who lie there range from the famous - MGM's Leo the Lion, Hopalong Cassidy's horse and Rudolph Valentino's Doberman - to family dogs and cats, rabbits, snakes and an occasional guinea pig. Burial costs range from $200 to thousands of dollars for large animals or elaborate services.

Ellen Newth, an actress and cemetery board member, has buried two of her dogs - Alfie and Spooky - in a plot that has room for nearly a half-dozen more pets. Losing her dogs - in particular, Alfie, a 70-pound golden retriever/collie mix, who suffered from lymphatic cancer - has been one of the most devastating things in her life.

It was like ``losing anyone in your life that's important to you. I felt the same as when my father died, but it's a different kind of missing,'' said Newth. ``An animal is there for you 100 percent, shares in your sorrows and plays with you and depends on you to take care of it. It's like a child that never grows up.''

Some people never really recover from a pet's death, said Encino family therapist Zoe Sager, who leads pet grief support groups. (To join, call [phone].)

``With people that we lose, there are a lot of unresolved issues, unresolved grief,'' Sager said. ``With a pet, we just seem to love them so much unconditionally. Of all the relationships we have, our relationship with a pet is probably one of the purest. That's why we miss them so much when they're gone.''

Puppy love: It has no limits

Just how much do we love our pets? A doggone lot, according to a handful of separate surveys. Here are some of the ways we find animals perfect companions:

From the 1998 Pet Owner Survey conducted by the American Animal Hospital Association, 1,252 respondents:

11 percent of cat owners have ended a personal or romantic relationship because of their pet.

56 percent of respondents have sent or received a greeting card from their dog or cat.

28 percent of dog owners have dressed their dog in clothing; 47 percent of those owners say they dress Fido or Fluffy up for Halloween or Christmas; 8 percent change their animals' clothing with the seasons.

76 percent use a special voice to speak to their pets.

48 percent consider themselves to be emotionally dependent on their pet.

89 percent say they believe their pet understands all or some of what they say.

83 percent say they would likely risk their lives to save their pet.

53 percent believe their pet would come to their rescue if they were in distress.

According to the Old Farmer's Almanac (survey methods unexplained):

63 percent of dog owners and 58 percent of cat owners give a holiday gift to their pet.

49 percent of dog owners and 37 percent of cat owners hang a Christmas stocking for their pet.

According to answers (survey methods not explained) to the Purina Dog Chow ``Best Friends Every Day'' survey of dog lovers:

90 percent take pictures of their pet and 23 percent carry those pictures in their wallets; 73 percent brag about their dog.

21 percent arrange the furniture so the dog can look out the window; in return, 66 percent of respondents' dogs wait at the door for them to return home.

21 percent of dog owners say their animals sing to them.

15 percent of respondents dance with their dog, 6 percent bathe with their dog, and 3 percent sleep with the dog in a doghouse.

A pet's world

Cats are the favorite pet, outnumbering dogs, 59.1 million to 52.9 million. Families also owned 12.6 million birds, 4 million horses and an undetermined number of snakes, lizards and ``pocket pets,'' which include gerbils, hamsters and guinea pigs, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

While some people love dogs and others dote on cats, 13.3 percent of all U.S. households owned both cats and dogs.

Marketing pet products is big business. In 1992, pet retailers hawking everything from premium food to kitty litter, from dog collars to lizard lairs, spent $67 million on television commercials. By 1994, that figure had risen to $75 million.

Want to give Fido a gourmet treat? MacPherson's K-9 Biscuit Kit is a collection of puppy treat recipes, plus a biscuit cutter, for $9.99 plus $2.95 shipping and handling. To order, call [phone].

You can barely go a night without finding something on the tube about one of America's pets. Case in point, Monday night on the Discovery Channel: ``First Dogs'' (8 p.m.), a look at the canine companions of U.S. presidents; and ``War Dogs'' (10 p.m.), giving due credit to the dogs who helped American soldiers fight the Vietnam War.

CAPTION(S):

7 Photos, 2 Boxes

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) On the cover: Maya's jeweled collar, $24.99, is from Euphuria Pet Salon in North Hollywood.

(2--Color) Golden retriever Shasta cozies up to to Bob Ditchik, whose Westlake Village-based Pet Greetings makes edible rawhide cards for dogs. Ditchik hasn't yet come up with a card that cats want to eat.

(3--Color) More than 40,000 pets are buried at Los Angeles Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas, where the tributes to people's deceased animals can get quite elaborate. Opened in 1928, it is Southern California's oldest pet cemetery.

(4--Color) Burial costs at the Calabasas pet cemetery start at $200 and go up from there for more elaborate services.

(5--Color) Shava is one of auto detailer Ron Costello's six pets.

Tina Gerson/Daily News

(6) A ``Happy Bark-Day'' edible greeting card gives Shasta something to chew on.

(7) Ron Costello and son Dominick enjoy some time with their chow dog Shaling, leopard turtles Honda and Civic, and lab-terrier mix Fuji at their Woodland Hills home.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News

Box: (1) Puppy love: It has no limits (See text)

(2) A pet's world (See text)