These days, it’s not enough to just bring Spot to the groomer. If you really want your dog to dazzle — and you have a chunk of cash to spend — you can take him in for a nip-tuck.
Edgard Brito, a São Paulo vet and plastic surgeon, told DuJour that he wants his procedures to make pets more lovable to their owners. “I often say that a clean dog with well-kept teeth will always be in better contact with its owners, otherwise the dog ends up being [put to sleep],” he said.
Brito, who’s been called the world’s go-to dog surgeon, performs procedures to glam up canines’ appearances: Botox to perk up the ears of a Doberman, nose jobs, face-lifts and testicular implants such as Neuticles to help neutered pets regain their masculinity.
“Dogs of the Upper East Side” artist Linda Olle told DuJour, “I knew someone who planned to get his bulldog puppy ball implants. He said he thought it would make the dog look and feel better about himself.” She had her doubts, she said, but then recalled how happy she’d seen friends’ pets after, say, a haircut.
Not all pooches go under the knife to become more photogenic. Some wrinklier breeds have skin folds around their eyes, which can trap bacteria and cause infections. “In the case of [those] dogs, it’s a medical necessity,” Ann. E. Hohenhaus, a veterinarian at the Animal Medical Center in New York, told CBS News.
Whatever the reason, prettifying your pup costs a pretty penny. People spent over $62 million in plastic surgery for their pets in 2011, according to animal insurance company Petplan. Some procedures could set you back $4,000 to $5,000.
Doggie plastic surgery is just one way pet owners, especially millennials, are going to extravagant lengths to tend to their furry companions. As previously reported by The Post, New Yorkers have spent up to $8,000 a month on pet “maintenance” such as nail painting, shrinks, chiropractors and massages.
“The pet market has been transformed by humanization of pets,” David Sprinkle, research director at MarketResearch.com, told the New York Times. “The term ‘pet parent’ has increasingly replaced ‘pet owner.’ ”