BY RILEY WILSON
With his Superman cape safely secured, Sonny walked out the door ready to doggone impress in his first Halloween costume.
Faster than speeding cuteness, the 4-year-old golden retriever became part of a growing Halloween trend – pet costumes.
Every year, Sonny attends the Eudora Trunk or Treat event, but this year was different. His owner, Eudora resident Keith Nowland, decided to dress him up.
“I just thought it would be fun with the Trunk or Treat since he goes every year,” Nowland said.
Sonny’s outfit is one of the most popular for pets in 2019, as superheroes are the third most popular costume category, according to the National Retail Federation. The most popular choice is a pumpkin, with hotdogs coming in second.
Consumers will spend $490 million on pet costumes this year, which is double what was reported in 2010. Nowland wasn’t shocked by this number, as he said pets are an important family component.
“Animals are a huge industry, and they’re just a big part of people's lives,” Nowland said.
To keep up with the craze, the Lawrence PetSmart held a costume contest and pet trick-or-treating.
PetSmart manager Audrey Troup said the store tries to keep up with popular trends by offering themed products, including treats and costumes for pets from dogs all the way to guinea pigs.
“PetSmart kind of likes to go all out for the holidays,” Troup said.
Even the Eudora Animal Hospital sees the growing trend of pet costumes, technician Charles Holt said.
He said some pets come in their costumes around Halloween time, but many of those animals wear clothes year-round.
“People are definitely more into humanizing their pets in this day and age, so we definitely see more dressing up in general in costumes,” Holt said.
Although it may be fun to dress pets up for Halloween, don’t forget to remember their safety.
Holt said it’s important to ensure costumes don’t have dangling pieces that a pet could get caught in. Additionally, the costume should be bright or reflective if the pet will be outside.
Reach reporter Riley Wilson at eudoratimes@gmail.com.
Support our journalism by "subscribing" through a donation at https://www.launchku.org/project/16454/wall.
Comments