THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, December 23, 1994 TAG: 9412220145
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK PELLEGRINI, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Many pooches around town will be pigging out Christmas morning.
It seems this year's hottest gift among the pet set is a pig's ear - dried, smoked and salted.
``The dogs love them,'' said Jennifer Beach, manager of Petstuff in Janaf Shopping Center in Norfolk.
Other big sellers for the canine stocking, she added, are rawhide candy canes and a new brand of chew bone called the Booda Velvet. Durable, ingestible and made with corn, they have drawn rave reviews from pet owners.
Petstuff, an Atlanta-based chain, reports that 60 percent of Americans own pets and spend $15 billion each year on gifts year-round for their four-legged friends.
For cats, the season's hot item is the interactive cat toy, consisting of a tuft of feathers or tinsel at the end of a plastic stick, to be bounced in front of the playful kitten.
``Cats love it,'' insisted Jeannie Dugger of Pets Warehouse in Virginia Beach, ``and people can play with their cat and get to interact with it a little more.''
Pets also receive their largest gifts at Christmas, she said, such as cat condos and cat trees, or for dogs, beds shaped ``just like the family couch, only smaller.''
But for pets, as for people, the holidays are not made of toys alone.
Owners dressed up in their Sunday best, said Dugger, ``want their dog to look unique and stylish.'' From dog parkas for the bitterest cold to sweaters for indoor wear, from rain slickers and rubber boots to flight jackets and Santa suits, pet owners have a varied wardrobe available.
And for those moved by both humor and tradition, ``cat and dog antlers are very popular,'' said Sherry Gray, assistant manager at Pet-Go-Round in Pembroke Mall, ``and we have halos and angel wings.''
As for birds, reptiles, fish and other small animals, it seems they are most often given as gifts. Petstuff's Beach listed bird cages, aquariums and reptile and hamster set-up kits as gifts for someone ``who doesn't have time for a dog.''
Reptiles are ``the up-and-coming gift,'' she said, but iguanas just don't receive the seasonal attentions and treats that dogs or cats do, simply because ``they don't do that much.''
To any owner who has not yet filled the stocking, Dugger offers a word of caution: don't skimp on the biscuits and other edible treats.
``During the holidays, it's very easy to just give the pet some scraps off the table. . . but too much people food'' can give your animal what she termed ``digestive upset.''
So this holiday, dogs and cats and some other lucky household pets can once again expect to be showered with love and loot, just like one of the family.
But lest anyone question whether your animal companion really knows that it's Christmas, heed the words of Gregory Labows of Virginia Beach and the actions of Tyler, his black Labrador.
``When the stockings go up,'' Labows said, ''he knows which one is his. And he guards it every night until Christmas morning.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Many animal lovers dress up their pets for the holidays. Many items
are available, including parkas, boots and dog and cat antlers,
wings and halos.
by CNB