A once unwanted pup is living a luxury lifestyle which sets her owners back £2,000 a year. Pampered Pomeranian Bear enjoys regular treats including special doggy days out, spas, puppy cocktails and weekly brunches.
Boasting a £350 wardrobe of clothes – including a Hawaiian bomber jacket – and toys costing £300, Bear the dog’s life is unrecognisable from her humble beginnings as part of an unwanted litter on a farm. After being snapped up by owners Hannah Dolan, 33, and her recruitment director fiancé Demetrious, 35, the pup saw her life turned around.
Calling herself a “dog-momager” – a combination of mum and manager – for Bear, who has more than 10,000 Instagram followers, magazine content editor Hannah, of Tunbridge Wells, Kent, said: “We found her on a preloved dogs website nearly five years ago. She was part of a litter in need of a home on a farm and the moment we saw her little eyes looking up at us, we had to have her.”
Bear’s rags to riches journey has seen her developing a taste for doggy cocktail Pawsecco with a lamb tagine, and she loves to travel – joining Hannah, who travel blogs, at hotels across the UK and even venturing as far as Paris, by car. Hannah said: “Bear absolutely loves hotels.”
She added: “It sounds so fancy, but she just loves the wide corridors and gets really excited. One time, we went to this hotel and she spotted a chaise longue in the lobby and immediately ran over to wait to be checked in. It’s ridiculous.”
And, armed with her £120 international passport and personalised canvas bag, Bear loved her Parisian adventure in 2019, when she joined her owners at posh restaurants and sauntering around the streets of the glorious French capital. Hannah, who usually sticks to UK trips with Bear, so she does not have to go in an airplane hold, continued: “She’s so used to going out for brunch, that she’s very comfortable to be around noise and people, so is a good traveller. Nothing really fazes her.
“We stayed in a serviced apartment once for an event and they offered a concierge for her so we could go out for dinner, like a dog babysitter. I still called them to check in on her, because I always worry about her.
"But when I text the lady, she said Bear had taken herself off to the master bedroom. It’s a skill she has! She will always find the master bedroom in any house or apartment.”
Hannah, who dreams of one day having a house full of Pomeranians, will stop at nothing to keep the pooch happy. Over the course of a year, she and Demetrious spend just shy of £1,000 on doggy days out, including the regular brunches and spa days every six months, while Bear’s home beauty regime comes to £40 for her paw balm, nail balm and doggy cleansing wipes.
Hannah said: “She has these pamper days at a dog spa where they do their nails, fur and eyes. She loves having her fur brushed – especially with a pet teaser brush.”
Most recently, Bear enjoyed “poochie-coladas” alongside Hannah at The Sheraton Grand Hotel in London, which she wrote about on her travel blog, Behind The False Lashes, which includes a section called ‘dining with my dog’. She said: “It sounds awful, but Bear loves it when she hears the Champagne cork pop!
“When we are dining out, she will hear the pop of and immediately run to fetch the cork. The waiters are clearly thinking, ‘What is going on?’”
During the week, Bear, naps and entertains herself while her owners work from home, sometime also joining Demetrious on his once weekly trips into the office. And on days off, Hannah enjoys shopping trips with Bear to Burberry and Luis Vuitton in Bond Street, central London, and has even dabbled in some dog-friendly exercise classes.
“We did a dog agility class a while ago where we were learning to jump hurdles and we have done a HITT class in London too,” she said. “It was chaotic but she is pretty chilled and she’s actually really good at agility.”
Incredibly well trained, Bear can dance on demand and jumps into her owners’ arms at their request. But Hannah says she still has her moments, adding: “If anyone goes near the bins outside, she starts growling. She also starts barking at the Amazon delivery drivers, but as soon as they arrive at the door all she wants is to say hello and get attention.”
Bear has also had two modelling shoots for a dog brand and Marriott Hotel – which she landed following the success of her Instagram page, @excusemypom. Hannah said: “She will do anything if she’s encouraged with her favourite cheese bites!”
Cheese treats are just one of tasty titbits bumping up Bear’s food bill to more than £500 a year – without the money they spend on eating out. But she respects nice things and never ruins her £300 toy collection.
Hannah laughed: “She never destroys her toys. We have things from when we first got her, so I will never get rid of those.”
She added: “Every time I do the weekly shop I see another toy she will like, so that’s £6 or £7 every time. She loves the squeaky toys and different balls, so we have tennis balls, ping-pong balls – all sorts.”
She is also very respectful of the many clothes in her £350 collection. Hannah said: “We have clothes for different seasons and she has hats and crowns for her birthday too. She has dresses, coats and a rain mac, as well as an umbrella which attaches to the lead – although she isn’t a fan of that.”
The next big treat for Bear will be her fifth birthday in May, with plans for a doggy party at the couple’s two-bed home – along with a banana and peanut butter cake. But it will be hard to top the pooch’s last birthday bash, when she had a special brunch and a treat hunt.
And Hannah, who has postponed her wedding multiple times because of the pandemic, is hoping Bear will be present when they finally set a date for their Mamma-Mia-inspired big day in Cyprus soon, when Covid rules enable them to have the 100 guests they want for a two-day pool party celebration. In the meantime, she is planning further trips to Manchester and Paris with Bear for her travel blog.
She said: “Everyone is drawn to Bear. She has such a happy little face. People approach her all the time. You always know when someone has spotted her because you hear them say. ‘Oh my God.’
“She’s so sassy and expressive. She can give the dirtiest side eye sometimes and requires constant attention from everyone – even if they don’t want to say hello. She always picks on the person who isn’t paying her attention to say hello to!”
And while some people think Hannah and Demetrious are extravagant, research by Rover, the marketplace for loving pet care, has shown that 83 per cent of dog parents, spend up to £600 a year on non-essential items for their pets. While at least one in 10 spends more than £800 on items including designer jumpers and blingy collars.
Adem Fehmi, Rover’s Canine Behaviourist said: “With dogs being such an integral part of the family, it is no surprise that owners want to treat their pets with nice gifts. It’s important to remember that, whilst adorable, dogs are a financial responsibility and the basic costs can tally up quickly, people looking to welcome a puppy into the home should ensure that they are able to afford the extra costs necessary to give a dog a happy and healthy life. Not just now, but over the lifetime of their pet.”
- More information about the True Cost of Pet Parenthood in 2022 from Rover’s Dog People Panel: www.rover.com/uk/blog/cost-of-pet-parenthood/
