Coley the Wonder Pup

For those of you that know me, Cole is my puppy. Technically he is not a puppy any longer but I still call him my puppy. When I talked to the vet about his real age I was given some random explanation about it being different depending on breed, lineage, etc. Since I never got a really clear answer, for those of you that are interested, Cole just turned 13 months old. Being that I have not had Cole that long, I frequently go out shopping for him and get him stuff. Mainly toys, treats and bones, but sometimes I look at clothing. Now, before I had Coley I was one of the people that felt clothing and pampering of your dog was absolutely insane and a complete waste of money. Growing up, I had cats and the most expensive purchase was the regular trip to the vet (which can become quite costly). Please understand that I am not saying that you shouldn't groom them, there is nothing worse than a poorly cared for, smelly old dog!! I have seen shows on TV that show people and the things that they do to their pets (the name of the show escapes me). I remember one episode featured a Mini-Yorkie who was a little girl and dressed the part. Not only did she have clothing on, she had a pink fru fru dress, pink slippers and a tiara on her head (now, the Princess in me thinks this is a great idea!!) which for all I know could have been made of real diamonds.

Shortly after getting Coley (October 2006), I went to PetSmart and found an adorable olive green sweater for Cole to wear since the weather was getting colder (not that it gets all that cold in Texas) and I was convinced that my poor little baby was going to freeze. I come home with this adorable sweater very pleased with myself for being such a concerned Mommy that was going to keep her baby from getting a chill and show Jason who just looks at me and shakes his head in disbelief that I am going to dress my poor puppy in a sweater. I think he told me that he was going to look Gay and that he would never walk him with it on because people would clearly think he was. So I put the sweater on Cole, which I tell you was a chore in itself. Have you ever tried to dress a fidgety three month old quadruped in clothing?? I finally get him outside and he is biting at the sweater and trying to pull it off of himself. Needless to say that was one of the last times that I put that sweater on him. Anyway, getting around to what I wanted to tell you about (finally), since Halloween is coming around pretty soon I thought that it would be really cute to get him a little costume and take a picture of him. Now each time I visit stores like PetSmart and Woof, they have pictures of these absolutely adorable dogs dressed up in all kinds of things. I thought it would be neat if I could take him to PetSmart or Woof and get a picture of him in some adorable little costume. They apparently have a person who photographs pets (clearly, I am not the only crazy who thinks this is the greatest idea!). In my free time I have been searching the Internet for a costume for my baby. I think I have finally found the one that I want, and I am not going to spoil the surprise. If I happen to get lucky enough to get this costume on him and take a picture, I promise that I will post it here!