Mabel is a no-frills kind of girl. She doesn’t need to put on a cute sweater or tie any pretty bows in her hair to go out. Just before leaving her Hoboken apartment, her owner Ryan snaps on her “Bark if you’re Irish” collar, and they’re off. Mabel may not be into frills, but she is proud of her heritage. This three-year-old Bernese Mountain dog is just one of the happy hounds living the good life.
With houses full of toys, closets crammed with accessories, and schedules packed with play dates, young Hudson County pet owners admit to having pampered pets.
Tending to their every meow
“Most people in the city are single or married – but with no kids, so the dogs become the center of attention,” said Ryan, who admits to spoiling Mabel.
Monika Bahamonde also admits that her cat Mischief is pretty pampered.
“Mischief is spoiled rotten. I tend to his every meow,” she said, laughing.
The three-year-old tabby shorthair lives in Union City with Bahamonde and her sister, Melissa, and Melissa’s cat Jack. Bahamonde said that her kitty even celebrated his first birthday in style. “I had a party for him with cake, party hats, cat guests and all,” she said. And he lives up to his name, too. He likes to make his way onto Monika’s balcony, though she tries to keep him off, to practice his favorite hobby.
“He loves bird watching,” Bahamonde said. “He sits out there and makes these chirping like sounds, it’s like his bird call,” she said.
Jersey City resident Sue Ingraffea also admits that her cats, Sterling and Simba are a little bit spoiled. “They have the run of the house,” Ingraffea said.
“They have a ton of cat toys and I give them treats all the time,” she said. “Maybe that’s why Simba weighs 19 pounds,” she added, laughing.
Publicity hound
Back in Hoboken, Calvin is out enjoying the sunshine, hanging at the Hudson Street dog run with his friends. Decked out in his red and white heart bandana, he trots around, trying his hardest to have his short legs keep up with the taller dogs. Every now and then he lets out a deep “woof!” and everyone turns to look at him. Not like the 10-year-old Bassett Hound really needs to bark for any press. His owner, Hoboken resident Theresa DePallo, said that he has his own clipping file.
“He’s been in a couple of publications,” DePallo said. “When he was younger I wanted him to be a model.”
The price of pet ownership
Working a schedule around walks and play dates, many pet owners have learned that the companionship of a dog or a cat doesn’t come without its fair share of trade-offs. Bahamonde ticks off the actual costs of her and her sister’s cats:
“On food alone I think I spend between $30 to $50 a month,” she said.
She said the cats prefer their homemade toys to store bought items. “When Mischief was younger I used to buy more toys, but I find that the cats make toys of more household objects,” said Bahamonde.
She said the most she ever shelled out was $140, for a cat house. “But he loves it and that’s all that matters, she said.
Worth the walks
Though they may cost a lot, pet owners agree that the companionship makes it worth the price – especially when it leads to other human companionship.
“I’ve met more people [with my] dogs than anything else in town,” said Hobokenite Isabel Kosarin.
Kosarin has a pair of Jack Russell terriers, Peanut and Zelda, who have daily play dates with their friend Bailey every weekday at 3:30, when Bailey’s owner Rachel gets back from her teaching job. Ryan even said that he knew of a couple that got married after meeting at the dog park.
But, he said, meeting people wasn’t his motivation to get Mabel. Becoming more mobile was.
“I got her because I don’t like sitting inside, and I thought that would be a great reason to get up and go out for a walk,” he said.
“I just didn’t realize that it would be four walks a day, and some of them would be cold and wet,” Ryan added.
“Some of my clients don’t realize it’s a big responsibility,” said Rich Giersch, founder of Happy Hounds of Hoboken, a professional dog-walking and pet-sitting service. “They don’t do enough research. If you’re not willing to put in the time, you shouldn’t have a pet.”
Ryan and Isabel do put in the time, but there are other owners who do not and cannot. That is why dog walking services do so well in the city.
Babe magnets or date deterrents?
Bahamonde added that some people get dogs for ulterior motives. “I definitely think that sometimes people get pets to attract the opposite sex, particularly with dogs,” she said.
One recent night at the dog run downtown, Mitch Cohen said that though he did not get his five-year-old pug Cornelius to be a babe magnet, attracting girls was kind of an added bonus.
“It was not the reason I got my dog, but it was one of the benefits that I was actually looking forward to,” Cohen said. Ingraffea said that sometimes pets can be a dating deterrent. “With cats you have to worry about so many people being allergic,” she said.
She added that though there are exceptions, many guys don’t like cats. “For some reason more girls like cats. They’re more feminine.” “Guys usually like dogs. They can go hunting with you and roll around in the dirt together.”
Hot dogs
With so many young, single pet owners in Hudson County, it sometimes seems as if getting a pet is the ultimate accessory. “There are some breeds that are trends,” said Jaime Mehnert, who was at the Hudson Street run with her puggle, Bailey, last week.
“It’s a status symbol for some people,” she added. So are Bichons the new Vuitons? Not this year, according to professional dog walker Giersch. Puggles (pug-beagle mixes), like Mehnert’s year-old puppy, and boxers are the hot dogs these days. “I used to be the only guy in town with boxers,” said Giersch, a Hoboken resident since 1959. “Now you see them all over the place.”
A former engineer for General Motors, Giersch started Happy Hounds of Hoboken in 2001 after GM downsized and he decided he didn’t want to start all over in the corporate world. “In hindsight GM did me a favor,” Giersch said.
Now he walks over 40 dogs a day, seven days a week. But the task isn’t taxing for Giersch, a self-described “dog person.” “If you love what you do it’s not work,” said Giersch.
Custody battles for kitties and canines?
For young yuppies in love, getting a pet is often the next step in a serious relationship. But when those relationships go sour, leaving behind a pet after a breakup is often more painful to people than losing touch with the other person.
Ingraffea, 27, used to live with an ex-boyfriend, and her cat Simba was the kitten of his two cats. When they broke up and she moved out on her own, Simba came with her. She said she could not imagine having had to give up Simba with the breakup.
She tells the story of a friend who got a dog with an ex, and visits the dog every weekend. She said she doesn’t blame her.
“I wouldn’t want to give the pet up,” she said. “I’d want joint custody.”
Comments on this piece can be sent to: mfriedman@hudsonreporter.com.
WHERE TO PAMPER YOUR PET
Beowoof – Provisions for Pets, 106 5th Street, Hoboken, (201) 659-PETS (7387) Canis Minor, 31 River Drive South, Jersey City, (201) 626-5545, (888) 848-8944 Cornerstone Pets, 105 9th Street, Hoboken, (201) 653-4644 Fetch-It Pet Supplies, 353 2nd Street, Jersey City, (201) 610-9405 Fetch-It by the Park, 228 7th Street, Jersey City, Fetch-It by the Park (201) 659-2880 Hoboken Fish & Pets, 56 Monroe Street, Hoboken, (201) 659-5501