Putting on the Ritz - Just You and Your Fritz

To You its Just a Collar - To Your Dog it’s a Wardrobe!

At the very least, every dog owns a collar and a lead – it’s the very minimum and what to you may be just a collar and a lead, to your dog, it’s a wardrobe or at least, the very minimum a requirement to being well dressed pooch!

Its spring. What better time to spiff up your wardrobe and while at it, ducking in to your favorite doggie haberdashery and picking up a new set or two of collars and leads for your best friend. Choices have never been so plenty.

Lucky the dog that can strut down the walk in a Gucci or an Hermes hand tooled leather collar and lead. So handsome! So elegant! Just whip out the platinum card, swipe it once, and out you walk with bags full of clothing for you and your furry friend. Add a customized I.D. for good measure.

Designer duds are great, but they do tend to be a bit hard on the wallet. Despair not. There are plenty of alternative brands and designs that will have you and your dog stepping out in style. I like all the woven fabric ones that have designs woven right into the collar - now that’s making a statement! How about a nice brown background with green lettering proclaiming “Good Dog” all around the collar and a matching lead! One of my favorites is a green collar with white daisies all around and of course, the matching lead. These fashion statements need not stress out your finances – you’ll find good quality in the $20 plus range.

No self respecting pet parent would have their dog go out without an I.D. Tag and what better way to complete an outfit than with a customized enameled light weight stainless steel that says “Good Dog” on one side and engraved with all your dog’s stats on the other. Get several - one for each collar!

When you think about it – there’s nothing like putting on the Ritz as your Fritz takes the honors of being Top Dog of the Walk!

Collars and tags selected just for your Fritzie at
Boo's Bootique

Snowy and Tintin Going to Hollywood!

After languoring in benign neglect for a quarter of a century, Snowy and his intrepid Belgium cub reporter are going to Hollywood!

Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks, a division of Viacom, have recently announced that a movie featuring the famous cartoon character Tintin and his loyal dog Snowy is in production and will be likely playing at a theater in your neighborhood within two years or less.

No word yet as to whether the movie will be in cartoon form or whether real actors will be cast. In my view, it does not matter. I have always been a fan of Tintin and Snowy. Intelligent and entertaining, Tintin and Snowy were the brainchild of Georges Remi, better known as Herge.

Herge was a Belgium cartoonist and worked for various newspapers starting right out of the chute after graduating from high school. His altar ego, Tintin is a cub reporter who finds himself on one improbable adventure after another. Whether in Soviet Russia, China, Tibet or the Congo, a cast of evil characters obliges our hero in his quest to fight the bad, and in true heroic fashion, uphold the good.

Snowy is Tintin’s dog. Of indeterminate breed, Snowy is so named because of his color and it could be said that he lends a whole new depth of meaning to the saying that a dog is man’s best friend, for indeed, were it not for his timely presence at the most critical moments, Tintin’s life and limb would long have met their final demise. Snowy is smart, intuitive, brave and takes on human proportions in the reader’s mind.

It is no surprise that Tintin and Snowy appealed to Spielberg. The rich cast of characters and locations as fashioned by Herge would be the equivalent of a candy store for a kid and Spielberg is a fascinating kid himself! I see another series of the likes of Indiana Jones, only this time, instead of the professorial Indy it will be the intrepid Tintin and his loyal dog Snowy who will keep us entertained, laughing and in rapt suspense for the whole ride! In the meantime you can go to Amazon and pick up the complete works of Herge's Adventures of Tintin and Snowy

China Issues One Dog Policy

First it was one child, now it is one dog. That is the new decree issued by the government of China.

As the world’s most populace nation rushes towards affluence so too do its citizens. Millionaires and a middle income society are being created with such speed that the bottom line of most bank accounts is growing faster than a grove of bamboo shoots! Consumerism is on the rise. Brands of consequence such as Gucci, Armani, and Channel are being snapped up quicker than you can say Karl Lagerfeld! But darling, other brands are catching up: the Shar-Pei, Chow Chow, Shitzu, just to name a few. What? Oh yes, of course! Not brands! breeds, dogs of course!

In old China, dogs were a symbol of affluence, allowed to be cuddled and coddled only by members of royalty and aristocracy. Today all you need is a few yuan in your wallet and in but a blink of an eye, man’s best friend is allotted a choice corner for its bed in the family house. To urban couples restricted to just one child, the dog has taken on a whole new meaning as being a member of the family. Eager and able families are bringing home a pooch, or two or three.

Rapid growth is wonderful – but it sometimes brings unforeseen problems, one word here, rabies! In an effort to curb the spread of this disease, the Chinese government has decreed that now, along with their policy of one child per couple, so too, it will be only one dog per household in designated zones. Large and dangerous dogs are banned.

Envy the dog who now will hold center of attention second only to the child – nothing is too good or too expensive. Designer labels will not only be sported by people but on their doggies as well. Decreed to smaller dogs, you can be sure that Chinese pet parents will be snapping up the Prada Dog Carrier. both for its cache and comfort. Witness the new royal – the family dog - being taken out for its morning air on the Bund. No hard pavement for these tender tootsies. Into the Bag this adorable fluff of brown or white is placed for its “walkies” in style and splendor. Pets of distinction! Oh Yes. Absolutely!