WORLDVIEW: This trend can be your friend – how to profit from investing in Man’s Best Friend

After a lifetime in dog-obsessed households, it was natural that our two Jack Russells came across to the UK with us, even though their airfares were similar to ours. Doggy people have a financial blind spot when man's best friend is involved. Especially in affluent societies. My Scots-based colleague Jackie Cameron shares a story of how her own four legged friend started a search for pet-related investment opportunities. And dog-gone, she found them on the stock exchange..Jackie writes: "I was reminded that it really is a dog's life in the UK when both my mother and my pet went for some much-needed pampering this week. My mom's bill for having her hair coloured 'vibrant red' and styled into a cheeky pixie cut: £49. Roxie's hydro bath, 'smoothie' shave, nail clip and teeth and ear clean came to £45..With hair salons proliferating the UK, my mother was able to take a walk-in appointment. Pet grooming parlours, on the other hand, are very, very busy. In leafy Dunblane, for example, the waiting list for an appointment is six weeks..___STEADY_PAYWALL___.So busy and lucrative is this line of animal care that one of my friends, a London-based financial journalist who also has a bushy Bordoodle, invested in a dog-grooming course. She bought herself a special shaving device and swapped two days of editing and writing in her week to cleaning up canines in her back room..Another friend regularly calls 'Bark and Ride' to look after her dog for the day while she is out-of-town on business. She hands over £25 and keys to her Edinburgh flat so that Jura can be fetched, entertained and later returned from the kennels..Also noticeable in my annual outgoings is the insurance to cover vet bills – which can quickly run into hundreds and even thousands of pounds – and litigation if your dog causes an accident or bites someone..We recently switched to more modest capped cover when the annual premium of just under £500 crept above the price of insuring the roof over our heads. Unfortunately, under this policy if she rings up more than £8,000 in medical expenses, it may have to be Doggie Heaven for Roxie..There are many other visible signs the pet industry is booming in the UK, from the throngs out walking their dressed dogs to the fully stocked food and pet treat aisles in supermarkets and specialist shops on high streets. Research company Mintel says entrepreneurs have identified posh pet food as a potentially lucrative line. And, as 'pet parents' increasingly humanise their animals, broader – and even quirky – opportunities are opening up, from designing kitchens that include pet feeding zones to inventing dog toys and organising animal birthday parties..Not everyone wants to become a groomer or start a pet service business. But there are other ways of benefitting from this seemingly unstoppable trend. Like investing in a company focused on the 'pet pound'..There's London-listed Pets at Home – which has more than 440 superstores supplying food and veterinary services across the country – which forecasts continued growth in the UK pet market. It believes the pet care sector is worth almost £7bn a year and growing at almost 5% a year..Stockbrokers Hargreaves Lansdown likes the Pets at Home group (LSE:PETS) which has a market cap of over £800m, a P:E ratio of 10.5 and a dividend yield of 4.5%..Then there's Dechra Pharmaceuticals (LSE:DPH), a UK-headquartered global provider of veterinary products, tipped in The Telegraph. This FTSE 250 listed stock has a P:E ratio of 134.43 and a dividend yield of around 1% and its share price has been steadily rising since 2012.".Jackie has nailed it again. Often the best investments are those we most easily understand. Any newcomer to the British Isles will soon be struck by the affection its people have for their dogs. There are dog friendly restaurants, B&Bs, even hotels. With the UK's population ageing, there's little sign of the trend abating. Add the inelastic price points and Jackie could be onto a serious winner here.

WORLDVIEW: This trend can be your friend – how to profit from investing in Man’s Best Friend

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