Leave the Dogs Alone

Someone please explain to me why dogs need to wear clothes becauaes I just don't understand. Now I am basing all of my research from what I see in Manhattan so I'd love to see some comments if this happens elsewhere around the country. For some sick and strange reason, people feel the need to dress up their dog before they leave the house to walk them. Am I missing something here? The dogs usually look ridiculous, the people walking them look equally ridiculous. Now that we're in winter, I've actually seen Burberry outfits being worn on dogs the size of my foot. After some quick research, I found out that these outfits run for over $200. Let me repeat, people are buying their dogs clothes which cost over $200. There are little dogs which weigh less than 5 pounds wearing a more expensive outfit than a grown man weighing 160 pounds in Manhattan on any given day. Something does not seem right.

I've actually gone up to people and asked them, "why do you dress up your dog?" I usually get two answers, the second of which I can't stand. Either I hear that it looks cute, which at times I can agree that the dog may look slightly cute, or they don't want the dog to get cold. Here's an eye opener for you, the dogs have fur. This may just be rumors, but I've heard that a dog's FUR is there to keep them warm, not a prada dog jacket. On top of that, I find it slightly ironic for what these owners are dressing up their dogs. They put on the dog clothes, make him or her look all cute and ready to walk around the block a few times. Are these people forgetting that the point of walking a dog is to let them do a #1 or #2 on the street? I'll tell you this much, you don't see me putting on a tuxedo to run to the bathroom in my apartment, let alone a $200 outfit.

One of the funniest parts about dressing up the dogs is that more often than not, it is the husband/boyfriend who ends up walking the dog anyway and you know the guys don't like the dog outfit. A man wants a dog who looks tough, mean, and is a dog he can be proud of. You put on some dog clothes and suddenly, a guy is ashamed at his very flamboyant friend. Recently, I got into my elevator of my apartment and a few floors down, a guy got in with a tiny little dog dressed in a pink jacket. So I'm staring at the dog, then I look at him, then back down to the dog for a few seconds. He obviously notices me watching and after a little silence, he blurts out, "I'm not gay man, it's my girlfriends." This guy was completely humiliated to walk this pink-jacketed dog around the city. I felt for that guy and for all guys forced to dress up their dogs. Have some respect ladies, let the men walk the dogs without getting beat up or completely humiliated.