In perspective

[LaffingBear]

Ever feel a little self conscious about your purchases?

 

Feel that $300, $400, $500 an hour is excessive?

 

30 million Americans will spend $490 million dressing up their pets this Halloween!

 

I don't have a pet. But I'm feeling a little more indulgent about who I want to pet.

[Islesguy]

The amount of money people spend in their pets is absolutely insane, but I'm not, nor will I ever be, a pet owner.

[Kevin Slater]

Speaking of, I'm having a hard time finding a costume for the girl. Most just slide around while she walks and end up on her side.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ oldNbusted]

30 million Americans will spend $490 million dressing up their pets this Halloween!

 

This averages out to $16.33 per person and that's not even considering that many of them have more than one pet. As far as frivolous extravagances go, this doesn't strike me as being up there.

[+ quoththeraven]

What bothers me most about this isn't the expense but that it prioritizes the human's interest in their pet looking cute or being amusing over what the pet might want. Dogs are usually agreeable enough about it, but with some (many?) cats it comes across as borderline abusive.

 

That said, I've bought a Santa hat, fake reindeer antlers and a bow tie for past cats (for Christmas, not Halloween), but without the expectation of ever getting them on the cat.

[+ poolboy48220]

A friend on our local dog forum makes it a priority to let her dog be a dog. I love that, and try to emulate it. When we're at the dog park - it's my dog's time to do what she want, as long as she's not hounding (pun intended) other dogs. So many people I see calling their dog to them when the dog's not doing anything off - just sniffing at the fence, for example.