Pet Talk: Dressing up pets for Halloween

DEAR PET TALK: I’m curious about dressing up my dog and cat for Hallowe’en photos, but I can use some tips.

— HALLOWE’EN LOVER

DEAR HALLOWE’EN LOVER: Not only are you not alone, but any money you spend on this endeavor will be added to the .92 billion dollars the National Retail Federation estimates consumers will be spent on pet costumes. Yes, that’s 920,000,000 — more than the GNP of many small countries.

Okay, so how do you decide what costume your pet will wear? Consider their personality — or in the case of cats, purr-sonality.

WooSox photographer Ashley Green has some darling “Batman” costumes for her beloved black cats, and TheraPAWS team member Cheryl Maguy-Stewart dresses Livvy, her sweet 4-pound Yorkie in costumes with cute little skirts.

In case you need inspiration, here’s the top 10 pet costumes according to the National Retail Federation: Pumpkin, Hot Dog, Ghost, bat/bee/spider (tied for rank), Cat, Superhero, Witch, Lion or Vampire, and tied for 10th place: Chucky, Devil, Dragon and Scooby Doo. For those keeping track, last year the top three were the same: Pumpkin, Hot Dog and Ghost.

Frankly, I’m still mulling over that $920 million spent just on pet costumes. Yes, I’m in favor of having fun, but that is a crazy amount of textiles that may, in many instances be used just once. Fortunately, some pet parents think of long-term environmental impact.

Dani Kumpulanian loves creating new looks for Zeke, her paw-some Italian greyhound. She explains, “The #1 rule: he has to be comfortable. I won’t make him wear something uncomfortable, even if just for a photo — he dislikes hats! I made his costume to fit him.”

Cats will be much more resistant to wearing apparel, but if you have a black cat and want a lovely photo with a trick or treat theme, do what Ashley does, and position your kitty next to an orange pumpkin. Hold up a feather teaser while you take photos, so your cat “watches the birdie.”

Sally Cragin is the founder of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and and Community Education. Send questions to [email protected].