Pets Are People Too: A Gift Guide for Your Four-Legged Friends
Dee and Stinker
So, lately we’ve been watching a whole lot more TV (or rather, tivo’d Disney Channel movies on repeat) around these parts than I think any parent would like to admit. I blame the flu. We’re working on it. Especially now that Delilah has taken to repeating pretty much everything she hears everywhere. Like this morning when she told our Chihuahua Stinkerbell to “Shut Up” — I asked her where she’d learned that word and she replied without hesitation “from the boy in the blue shirt”. “At school?” I pressed? “No,” she replied matter-of-factly: “On the TV.” Awesome. I’ll take my parent of the year award in gold bullion please.
Anyway , the moral is, she’s picking up some stuff from TV. So I knew exactly where she’d gotten the idea when she came to me recently and announced: “Sometime I want to take my doggies to Target and buy them presents for Christmas.”
We celebrate Hannukah kiddo, and that commercial you’re talking about was for Petco, but still a nice sentiment. Sophie, Otis Redding, and Stinkerbell (that’s our Grandma Basset, Baby Coonhound, and aforementioned Straggly Stray Freeloading Chihuahua mix respectively) are some of Delilah’s favorite playmates. They provide her endless hours of joy, and she wants to return the favor the best way she knows how: with toys.
And it wasn’t a fleeting thought either. The next time we visited Target she remembered her furry family members and insisted on selecting a noisy chew toy for each of them. (Of course I had pre-buyers remorse and slipped them back onto a shelf when she wasn’t looking, which was stupid since now I have to go back and get those damn noisy toys because she still hasn’t forgotten about them, and asks daily when she can give her doggies their Hannukah presents. But that’s neither here nor there.)
So, inspired by my kind-hearted little girl, I give you a list of some of the coolest, coziest, and cookiest gifts for pets this holiday season.
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Found My Animal
Have you ever seen a more beautiful dog leash? This sturdy and durable dip dyed rope lead is made in Brooklyn by Found My Animal - a pet accessories committed to helping home rescue pets!
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Curvynest
Although we're a dog family, this is an equal opportunity gift guide. From the makers of the stunning, modular Catwall comes curvynest. Not all cat-gym-things are created equal.
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Pet Projekt Dog Meat
(Not that kind of dog meat. Gross.) These all-natural BPA free chew toys come packaged just like your Butcher wrapped it. Also available in medieval turkey leg and big fish.
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3D Pet Tag
I've never seen anything quite like it. Name and phone number in 3D. Kind of fantastic for dogs or cats.
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Glass Food & Water Bowls
What better way to say I love you than with fancy new bowls? These come etched with easy instructions and won't give your pup chin acne like the plastic version.
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PreFab Pet House
Nothing shows you care quite like a DIY undertaking. David Neighbor designed this Frank Lloyd Wright inspired dog house for Pre Fab Pets. Feeling crafty?
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Akemi Tanaka's Curve Bed
This super slick wall-mounted lounger almost makes me want to get a cat.
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Dog Nose Necklace
Okay, so it's not exactly for your pet, and they'll probably hate you for making a custom mold of their nose, but it's almost guaranteed to creep out everyone you know.
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Sleepypod
For the Jetsetting Pet. Sleepypod is a bed and a carry-on in one, so your companion is always at home.
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The Cat's Trapeeze
Can't decide if this cat habitat is awesome, or a hanging bag of allergies.
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Wall Mounted Feeder
Short on space? I've long lusted after this sleek wall-mounted pet buffet by Vurv design.
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Soggy Doggy Doormat
You know you need this. I know I do. Extra absorbent, durable, and quick-drying, Soggy Doggy doubles as a sleeping mat.
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Tuffy's Toys
We don't just have three dogs because we're mouth breathing animal hoarders, my better half is actually a dog trainer (to the stars!) and one thing led to another and well...we can't say no. Anyway, he absolutely swears by the indestructability of Tuffy's dog toys for his very picky clients, and we love 'em for our menagerie too.
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Pod Bed
Let's be real: I would sleep in this cozy little pod. Good for small dogs or regular-sized cats, and currently nicely discounted at Fab.com.
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Victorian Pet Portraits
Again, not exactly for your pet, but I couldn't resist (although if your pet is anything like me...who doesn't want to see themselves immortalized in oil paint?) My sis-in-law commissioned the above set from artist Luke Jervis.
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were my first dog not dead i would totally get one of those nose necklaces. :c
Ha! Loving the Pet Projekt Dog Meat! My dogs would fight over it!
I love that wall mounted feeder. I could put outside so my kids can wash their hands.
[...] So, inspired by my kind-hearted little girl, I give you a list of some of the coolest, coziest, and cookiest gifts for pets this holiday season. …continue reading… [...]
My dog is a weird size (neither small nor medium), so if the leash came in a custom size I would buy it.