Daycare Down Under

Australian daycare caters to all kinds

Wagin' Tails Dog Daycare in inner Brisbane, Australia has seen it all and gives new meaning to the term "pampered pet." Does your pooch need a cut and color while you're at work? No problem, a full salon with veteran stylists can take that on. Does he have a finicky diet of only the finest? That's okay, Wagin' Tails can accommodate that too.

The pooch in the upper left is being treated to a new do, trying out pink -- the salon's most popular color for furry fashionistas. Wagin' Tails Daycare oversees 100 particular pups per week, each with his own tailored preferences and schedule. One client likes to start his mornings with a plate of warm scrambled eggs, another prefers to catch an episode of Days of Our Lives. Manager Jodie Hartz, acknowledges, "It's very similar to childcare. You've got packs of dogs running together and you've got to supervise them constantly.''

Anything goes at Wagin' Tails. And it's no wonder why -- Australians very closely tail Americans in pet related spending. In 2005, Aussies spent a whopping $4.62 billion on pet products, a figure that makes the $33 dollar daycare fee seem nominal.

Photo thanks to The Courier