Halloween isn’t a really big ‘thing’ for me; but I’ve got friends who delight in the holiday. Decorating their homes, carving pumpkins and, for some, dressing up their pets in fun costumes. Just for fun, I thought I’d share six of my favorite pet Halloween costume photos from Instagram.
Fair warning: I’m not an avid Instagram user. Yes, I have an account, but that doesn’t mean I log-in with any regularity. But today’s topic, I thought, made Instagram a natural choice. Logging-in, I entered “pet Halloween costumes” and was treated to the collection of 451 images featuring the #pethalloweencostumes hashtag.
Dogs in Halloween Costumes
Dogs, it appears are very willing to participate. When reviewing the pictures of dogs in Halloween costumes, I was reminded of Sam Butler’s remark, “The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too.” There are lots of canines willing to step up to the occasion. Consider these:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bot_Pgtn-g3/
I really like the ingenuity of this pet Halloween costume, although I bet the dog wasn’t too pleased having to wear the cone:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BowoRRWHubI/
One more, admittedly adorable dog in a Halloween costume – it shows just how willing dogs are to participate in our lives – even if they look foolish (albeit charming):
https://www.instagram.com/p/uY7yivoE7Z/
Cats in Halloween Costumes
Dogs may have a foolish streak, but the same isn’t true for cats; It seems it’s not in their personality to play the fool – for anyone. What did Ernest Hemingway write? “No animal has more liberty than the cat…the cat is the best anarchist.” That surely describes any feline I’ve ever lucky enough to have as a companion!
Here’s a rather unhappy cat, dressed in a lion costume just like the dog shown earlier:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo1MEDtFc0S/
Annoyed, if not downright angry, cats in Halloween costumes abound on Instagram. Sometimes they just look sad, take this feline:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BapBWFjBDz6/
I can’t resist adding this disgruntled feline to the gallery. Wow! If looks could kill!
https://www.instagram.com/p/ROQtDhsC0l/
Why Do We Dress Our Pets for Halloween?
The bottom line, I think, is this: we dearly love our pets. And I think we want to give them a full, rich, fun life as our companions. Americans love them so much; last year we spent more money on them than ever before: $69.51 billion (source). And, according to the Christian Science Monitor, at least $350 million of that will be spent on pet Halloween costumes! Pet Halloween costumes may be an expression of this deep love; but it also appears to be a whole lot of fun!
Quotations Source: “21 Quotes That Will Make You Want To Hug Your Pet”.