Maria Febres knows that New Yorkers will do anything for their pets.

Febres, the general manager at of Woofspa in Greenwich Village, a facility that offers doggie day care, grooming and walking services, has met hundreds of finicky pet owners.

“Parents are very neurotic,” Febres said of the clients who bring their dogs to Woofspa. “It’s just like having kids. They will call constantly to check up on them. They will ask outrageous things. We get requests for spoon feedings.”

But doggie day care is just the beginning. Those who live in the Big Apple have access to pet psychics, artists who can create a special rendering of a beloved pooch or feline and the most stylish of designer pet outfits. Tourists can even take advantage of hotel packages that treat Fido like royalty.

Animal experts say the cornucopia of pet services available point to a growing connection between humans and their pets. Parvene Farhoody, a Manhattan animal behavior specialist and trainer who has worked with pets for 28 years, said she has observed that New Yorkers’ bonds with animals have grown stronger in recent years.

“The more we don’t know our neighbor and don’t make close connections to our community, the more we are turning to our animals,” said Farhoody, who owns Behavior Matters and P’s Dog Trainingin New York City. “People are delaying marriage and having children later, but the desire is very strong to nurture and choose animals because of that. People really love their dogs now. They treat dogs as children and will do anything to help them.”

Tia Koulianos, an artist who lives on the Upper East Side, said there is a community of animal lovers in New York City unlike any other in the world.

“My cat is sick now, and I would do anything to help him,” Koulianos said. “I feel his pain and I don’t want him to suffer. I give him IV fluids two times a day – I do ridiculous things so he can feel as well as he can until his days are over. Everyone I know who is an animal lover would do the same for their pet. There is a crazy community of pet lovers here. We’re all crazy in the same way, and we can relate.”

A custom pet portrait by Tia Koulianos. PHOTO: Courtesy Tia Koulianos

Koulianos has developed her love of animals into a business she started in October 2004 called The Laughing Pet. For upwards of $55, Koulianos will create a custom, brightly colored painting of animals for their owners.

Since some New Yorkers can’t stand to be separated from their pets for very long, stores such as Fetch in Greenwich Village cater to customers that want to take their dogs everywhere, selling quilted vests, sweaters and raincoats for dogs, as well as designer carriers, collars and leashes.

“In New York, we have very educated consumers,” said Laura McCann, manager of Fetch. “People definitely have a clear idea about what they want, and what their pet needs – down to the color of the leash. They know what their dog likes.”

Customers like Ted Jones, 47, come into Fetch knowing exactly what they are looking for.

“This is my favorite toy,” said Jones, a writer who owns a Welsh terrier, as he picked up a stuffed toy with a silk-screened image of a wooden stick. “Fancy dogs in New York don’t carry sticks. They carry stuffed things that look like sticks.”

For well-heeled dogs that are visiting from out of town, the Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park introduced the V.I.P. (Very Important Pooch) Program and the Doggy and Me Weekend Package in late 2002, said Rebecca Rand, the hotel’s public relations manager.

Luxury hotels, which traditionally did not allow pets to stay, have become more open to canine guests, Rand said.

“Pets are playing more of an active role in families,” Rand said. “They are not just pets that you leave outside anymore and play catch with. In many cases we find the guests treat them like children.”

Pampered pups check into the Ritz Carlton. PHOTO: Courtesy Ritz Carlton

The Ritz offers amenities such as pet carriers, 22-karat gold-plated identification tags, aromatherapy coat spritz treatments and home-baked dog treats, as well as a selection of designer dog clothes, including a terry-cloth bathrobe.  The Doggy and Me weekend, starting at $1095 a night, includes a portrait of the dog and their master in Central Park by a pet photographer.

Pets that get sick in New York have access to a variety of health care treatments such as acupuncture, homeopathic medicine and herbs that “would have been like voodoo 10 years ago,” said Dr. Laurie Greene, a veterinarian at the Riverside Veterinary Group on the Upper West Side, who practices both Western and non-traditional types of medicine.

Greene said that advanced technology and treatments – MRIs, cat scans, chemotherapy and radiation treatment – are becoming more and more common, in part because people care so much for their pets and will do whatever they can to help them.

“Vets have known what psychologists are now verifying,” Greene said. “The bond with animals is every bit as powerful and emotionally rich as what one has with another human. When one loses that life, the grieving can be just as severe as when one loses another human.”

To strengthen the bond one has with an animal, many will turn to animal communicators, who communicate telepathically with animals and relay messages to their owners.

Donna Lozito, an Upper West Side animal communicator who has done thousands of consultations, said people call her to understand their pet’s behavior, find out more about a medical problem or to make a connection with a pet that has died.

“They want to find out what is going on with them because there is such a strong connection,” Lozito said. “There are a lot of lonely people in New York. People connect to an animal because of the unconditional love they offer. Animals give openheartedly the unconditional acceptance that we’re all searching for.”