National Dress Up Your Pet Day

I never thought I’d be doing this. Dressing up our dog, that is. We’ve done it only a few times, because he hates it so much. But in honor of National Dress Up Your Pet Day tomorrow, I’m posting some pictures of our lovable little pooch, Ralph. That’s right; his name is Ralph.

This unusual terrier came to us as a tiny pup, the runt of the litter. He was so small he could fit in the palm of my husband’s hand. He appeared to have been neglected by his former owner; he ate like he was starved at first.

Originally, we thought we would make him an outside dog. “He’s so tiny; he’ll get eaten by coyotes!” our children pleaded. They were right; we could hear coyotes yipping at night in the pasture behind our house. That’s how Ralphie came to be our inside pet.

This unusual 12-pound bundle is one for the record books. He doesn’t bark much, and for a dog who appears to have some Russell Terrier genes, he’s not hyper. Make that rarely hyper. When he comes inside after an outdoors bathroom break, he speeds around the house like a rabbit on steroids.

Ralphie’s posture in the pictures betray his attitude toward getting dressed up. He thinks it’s humiliating.

Our granddaughter bought the Christmas outfit for him last month. He really hated getting dressed up like an elf. When he noticed people laughing at him it was too much. Out of pity, I took the ridiculous outfit off him and haven’t humiliated him since.

So, although our dog despises being dressed up, I know there are other pets who don’t seem to mind. If yours is one of those, we would love to see some pictures. Send them to me at contact@armchairwit.com and I will post them.

Happy Dressing Up Your Pet Day!