For pets: Is it okay to dress up my pet in Halloween costumes? – Curious
For the curious: Every day, the Internet publishes photos of pets in various costumes: antler ears, tutus, tiaras, and more. Halloween is becoming bigger and more commercialized every year. 2020, the first year of Corona.
First things first, does your pet tolerate dressing up? The four-legged members of the TheraPAWS pet therapy team sometimes visit us “in their Ritz.” Sensitive pet owners are well aware of their pet’s comfort level. If your pet wears a harness, you may want to add a small ribbon to it. (My TheraPAWS therapy cat, Reggie, has a variety of ribbons, usually with a button that says “Be Kind” pinned to the knot).
This year’s most popular pet costumes (according to the National Retail Federation) are pumpkins, hot dogs, bats, ghosts, bumblebees, cats (!), spiders, witches, lions, and devils. The top three for kids are Spider-Man, Ghost, and Princess, and the top three for adults are Witch, Vampire, and Cat.
We’ve heard from many TheraPAWS team members that their pets are happy to wear costumes as long as they’re comfortable and don’t interfere with grooming. If your pet balks when you try to put clothing on its body, consider taking a photo and adding the costume to the photo from one of the many computer programs that have this feature. (Remember: The Internet wasn’t created for communication. It was created for people to share videos of cute cats and dogs.)
Sally Craigin is the director of Be PAWSitive: Therapy Pets and and Community Education. Send questions to sallycragin@gmail.com.
