Last year at Boardwalkin' for Pets in Ocean City, we entered out Lab, Daisy in the Costume Contest. She was dressed as Shrek, complete with a set of green ears! She came in at a close 2nd to a tiny little dog whose owner hand-made all of her little dresses (with matching collar & leash!) - we couldn't compete with that!

Peapod has a good sized wardrobe- an outfit suitable for most occasions both inside and outside the house. Her most memorable outfit is actually "ours". We have matching Jack-O-Lantern t-shirts for Halloween. One other important outfit which she has outgrown (heaven forbid growing over 5 lbs!) is her pink lace dress she wears on dates outside the house with her boyfriend. People actually asked to take photos of her in that dress!

My dog Darrell was a very mellow Springer Spaniel (quite an oxymoron) who, in his later years, developed Cushings Disease. As a result, he spent months on medication that made his skin a bit sensitive and his front elbows irritated. After realizing that bandages would simply be eaten within a few minutes, I decided to make him a pair of pants.

Not being much of a seamstress, I found an old dishtowel emblazoned with "someone's in the kitchen with Dinah" and fashioned a pair of cuffed bellbottoms that tied over his front shoulders. He looked quite absurd, but didn't mind. What worried me was the fact that when neighbors saw him in his new trousers there was no big reaction, just "Oh, Darrell's got pants!" and they'd be on their way.

Eventually, I realized that a dog needs more than one pair of pants and, drawing on experience, cut the feet off an old pair of tights, cut holes in the inside thighs and threaded Darrel's legs through, then pulled the panty part up over his head to rest on his shoulders, thereby creating a bit of a tummy-control super-hero cape.

All that brought from friends and neighbors was, "Oh, Darrell's got a cape! Good for you, Darrell."

From that time on, people I barely knew began to walk up to me and furtively hand me small packages -- "It's for Darrell," they'd whisper, "I hope they fit." They'd leave me standing there, clutching used tights.

He didn't mind.

Our bichon has an extensive wardrobe , including several colors of polo shirts, many halloween costumes and of course the necessary yellow slicker and a fleecy suede winter jacket (yes I have one to match). My only complaint with dog clothes is that the sizing is often not accurate.

The goofiest thing my rottweiler has ever worn is a child's bathrobe from the clearance rack at Target. He 'needed' a costume for a pajama party we threw at our house. He didn't seem to mind, and he fell asleep at the party curled up in his robe. The strange thing is, it fit him perfectly - and everyone was calling him Hugh Dogner that night.

Han is slowly aquiring quite a decent sized wardrobe!! He has a couple of tshirts, booties, and a Santa's hat. But my personal fav is his doggie sized Washington Capitals jersey. Han is a big Caps fan!! Whenever my husband and i are watching a game on tv and we cheer when a goal is scored, Han gets excited, wags his tail like crazy, and jumps up to attack with celebratory kisses.

Our pit Lucy is 100% lover, not fighter. When she was in training at PetSmart, we'd get the usual offhand nervous looks that pit owner are used to, but we and our trainer just laughed them off. For PetSmart's Halloween costume contest, we dressed her as Flava Flav--the joke being that she's about as gangsta as Flav is (i.e., not at all). A lot of people were confused, but our trainer laughed her head off! We won a $5 gift card, which we promptly used to buy Lucy treats for being such a good sport.

My poor Pittie was subjected to everything from baby socks to doggy booties, rain slickers, vests and a shiny see-through micro-mesh t-shirt. He took it all with grace and sweet good humor. I miss him so much.

I loved reading these costume "tails." :)

Gig, Hi. He sounds like he was a wonderful dog. Thanks for sharing him with us. MC