Tick or Treat
If you're hard up for a last-minute Halloween costume for your pet, the video above might give you some ideas.
And if putting Bowser in a Batman costume gives you pause, take heart: A whopping one of ten households that celebrate Halloween -- about 7.4 million of them -- plan on outfitting their pets for the holidays, according to the National Retail Federation.
Devils, pumpkins, witches, princesses and angels (in that order) are the top five Halloween costumes for pets this year, the federation reports in its 2007 Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch.
“Many consumers who own pets think of them as family members,” said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin. “Pet owners will go all out to include dogs, cats and other critters in Halloween festivities, including trick-or-treating, handing out candy or even celebrating at a friend or family members’ house.”
Nearly 60 percent of American humans plan on celebrating Halloween in some way, with princess the most popular costume for females and Spiderman still the leader among boys, according to the survey.
Pet costumes are bigger and more available than ever before – Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon.com all now stock dog and cat Halloween costumes. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) says “humanizing accessories” are the fastest growing segment of the $41 billion a year pet market.
The APPMA predicts about 7 percent of dog owners plan to purchase a Halloween costume for their pet this year, up from 4 percent in 2004.





