Pupperware?

Before you read this, I must warn you that I am a pet tolerater, not a pet lover. I respect my friends who own dogs and who love them. I will pet your dog and even say "good doggie" to him or her. I understand that when a pet dies, real tears of sorrow are shed and I can empathize with you.

Having said all that, my philosopy on dogs is that they are animals, not people. They should be cared for and even loved. They should have their own bowls for food and water, they need to be played with, taken out for a walk and brought to the vet when necessary.

My friend ccap ranted about a $120.00 doggie bowl last month. Well my dear, I can do better than that! I was watching the CBC news last night (honestly!) and they had an interesting piece of information. It seems that Tupperware parties are being replaced with "Pupperware" parties. I kid you not.

Like Tupperware parties, the hostess of a Pupperware party will invite her animal loving friends and their beloved pets to her house. There, they will meet a consultant who will share with them all of the wonderful things you can buy for your doggie. These things include, canine cologne, breath fresheners, paw balm (for those dry and cracked paws) and more traditional doggie parapernelia-brushes, dishes and of course, the latest in doggie fashion.

Okay, I know that I am not a doggie lover but isn't this just a little extreme? The consultant makes about $200.00 profit in an evening which makes me wonder how much money people are shelling out to make their doggies look and smell good. The hostess also gets free items based on how much is sold in an evening.

And the doggies. It's bad enough for us humans to have to deal with "keeping up with the Joneses" but now our doggies need to keep up with the "Rovers." Not only are we humans reminded that what we have is never enough, we're hoisting our pets onto that bandwagon too. Does Lassie really want to have to take a bath and put ribbons in her hair so she can go out to a party? By 8:00 p.m., most doggies I know are ready for bed and would prefer to be dreaming of chasing rabbits rather than playing silly party games with their friends.

If I have offended my doggie loving friends out there, my apologies. I guess that not owning a pet makes it hard for me to understand this. Maybe I need to have a talk with Buddy my dog-nephew. He might be able to shed some light on this issue. I'll need to wait a few days though. He stinks so bad these days (long story) that I don't want to get too close to him.

Maybe I should buy him some cologne...