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Old 05-05-2006, 01:10 PM   #1
fasteddie
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Default [News] Gucci for Poochie

Forget fetching sticks. Discerning dogs like these prefer a fetching look . . .

Sporting the latest canine couture - or "Gucci for your poochie", if you prefer - dogs took to the catwalk yesterday dressed in this season's must-have designer fashion.

Kitted out in hoodies, trainers and diamante collars, the pampered pets gave the fashionable ladies of Holt a run for their money as they swaggered through the streets in their stylish outfits.

This show saw fashion-conscious mutts dressed in outfits from a new shop at Holt, which is selling designer get-ups for cats and dogs - as seen on the pets of celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Mariah Carey.

The shop, called Designer Dogs and Pampered Pussies, also sell beds and sofas for dogs and cats, and more 'bling' and jewellery for animals than even ostentatious rapper Snoop Dogg might wear.

But some people think that spending this sort of money on fashion for our four-legged friends is just plain barking . . .

You can spend £750 on a travelling suitcase-shaped dog basket, complete with drinking bowl, spare collars and passport, for the jet-setting dog, or £365 for a pink chaise longue so your cared-for creature can relax in comfort.

T-shirts are on sale for £12 with slogans such as "beware of the owner", "learner", and for guard dogs you can buy imitation nightclub bouncer black tops with, "security" printed on the back.

Chris Jackson, the shop's owner, said: "The dogs know when they are being dressed up and they love it. They really do.

"The dogs look after me and protect me and buying them clothes is my way of saying thank you," said the 54-year-old dog trainer.

And she said that for many people, including herself, their pets were like their babies.

Kirk Wills, who helped set up the business, said many people did not understand the fad for dressing up dogs and spoiling them.

But he said: "Some people don't have children and their dogs are their kids.

"There are people who fall about laughing when they see the dogs dressed up - they probably think I need putting in somewhere secure, but no one is offended."

He dresses up his dog, a Yorkshire terrier-chihuahua cross called Harry, regularly, saying: "He loves it.

"He gets so excited when I put a T-shirt on him that he runs around like a mad dog."

And while the store might be light-hearted, there are free trade beaded collars made in South Africa available for the conscientious consumer.

Some remained unimpressed, however, with Holt resident Janet Lock, 61, saying: "It's all right if people like this kind of thing but we are country people really, and dogs are for working on farms, not for dressing up."

But Linda Copeland, a 33-year-old catering manager for the National Trust, said: "I think that it is so cool. Dogs are like children.

"A bit of Burberry on a dog like Paris Hilton's is sweet."

Hilary Russell, a vet in Fakenham, said: "It's just a bit of fun and it doesn't discomfort the dogs.

"In fact some people put special shoes on their dogs to protect their feet on the flints."

Mrs Jackson and Mr Wills are confident that the shop, which is upstairs in W and J Utting on the High Street and opens for business on Friday, will thrive, owing to the number of people who have already wandered past and promised to return when they are up and running.

If the venture does prove successful the couple intend to expand their stock.

Mrs Jackson said: "You can get the most amazing things.

"There are four-poster beds for dogs, silk kimonos, fur-lined coats, and sunglasses for dogs called doggles.

"I've even seen a whole two-storey house for cats."

http://new.edp24.co.uk/content/news/...A37%3A29%3A067
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