The new show dogs

AS the demand for dog beds, dog spas and gourmet dog treats grows to be a $43.4-billion industry this year, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn., the market for canine-related collectibles is keeping pace.

Bonhams & Butterfields’ L.A. auction Sunday includes nearly 2,000 dog-related pieces from late Brentwood collector Jennifer Berry. Alan Fausel, vice president and director of fine art for the auction house in New York, estimates that sales of such memorabilia have increased 30% during the last five years, and the category is still expanding. Vintage paintings, photos, furniture – any decorative item with a handsome (or comical) image of a dog – may find a buyer, depending on the piece’s quality and age, he says. Prices have risen with demand.

“A Victorian, painted, metal coal scuttle brought $6,000 against our estimate of $1,500 to $2,500,” Fausel says, referring to a New York auction last month. “Six or eight bidders were passionate over this piece, which had a nice painting of a Newfoundland on the front.”

One of Fausel’s favorites was a Victorian brass butler’s bell shaped like a bulldog. “Pull on its jaw or ears, and the bell rings,” he says. It sold for $2,750, more than double its estimate.

The collection of Jennifer Berry and husband Reed consists mostly of pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, says Carolyn Mani, a manager at Bonhams & Butterfields in Los Angeles. “They had a huge variety of decorative and fine art items – everything from rugs and porcelain to silver and bronze statuary,” she says.

To see additional lots, look for the photo gallery posted with this article at latimes.com/home.