Sorting through clothes

I spent the better half of my night last night sorting clothes into seasons, colors and uses. I also got rid of clothes that were nearly threadbare and clothes that had rips in them. But, it wasn’t my clothing I was sorting — it was my dogs’ clothes. Yes, you read that right, my dogs’.

I have two shih tzus and a teacup poodle who wear clothing around the house. But it’s the teacup poodle, Mayiah, that is the worst. This dog loves her clothes. Ok, so maybe I love her clothes! She has an entire wicker basket filled with shirts of every color, rain suits, snow suits, even rain boots that she wears when it snows.

Now you may think I’m crazy, but consider this: a google search for “dog clothes” returned more than 3 million hits. Americans spent a whopping $41 billion on pet goods last year, according to http://www.lansingstatejournal.com. This amount is expected to soar above $52 billion in the next few years. That’s a lot of money! And take a look around your favorite stores’ pet sections. Even in stores such as Wal-Mart, Target and KMart, you will find an array of designer dog supplies such as shirts and even the boots I talk to. The pet industry is huge in the United States and isn’t expected to slow down anytime soon.
If you want to read more on the pet industry, I found a great article located at: http://www.laanimalservices.com/PDF/news/080607%20Business%20Week%20-%20Pet%20Story.pdf.

So before you deem me crazy, consider that article! My dog doesn’t own a ball gown yet, or a patented testicular implant by Neuticles. The implant allows dogs that have been neutered to still have the “un-neutered look.” I haven’t gone quite that far yet! However, who knows, it might improve the dogs’ self esteem like the inventor stated. Go figure.