Second Chance: Fashion Goes to the Dogs

26 Feb Second Chance: Fashion Goes to the Dogs

Second Chance’s Wine & Whiskers Weekend takes place Thursday March 20 (opening mixer) & Saturday March 22 (gala)

Spot strutting his stuff at the Telluride AIDS Benefit student fashion show.

Are dogs a fashion statement?  Many would say “yes.” And as a dog, I can easily rationalize that notion.

Fashion is often considered an outer reflection of our inner person, and just as often, judgments can be made by the company a dog keeps.  Think, for example, about how you react to seeing a large man with a small dog versus seeing a large man with a large dog walking down the street. It is human nature (thus not necessarily proper or accurate) to form an opinion: Does the big man with the little dog see himself as little? Would he rather actually be little? Is the big man with the big dog demonstrating self-acceptance and/or reinforcing his power?

So it is only natural, dogs are used to reinforce fashion statement and that both conspire to make statements about the humans who assume both the clothes and the animal. Just last fall, for example, in conjunction with Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, Ralph Lauren collaborated with the ASPCA to create The Dog Walk, a short film featuring rescue dogs from the ASPCA and the designer’s Fall 2013 accessories collection, all in an effort to raise money for the ASPCA – and sell fashion.The message? Owning a rescue is just as cool as owning a Ricky bag.

Collaborations like that are win- win for us dogs. They give us great exposure to potential adopters: all of the shelter dogs who starred in the Lauren film found loving forever homes. They also helps to promote the fact that dogs signify a particular lifestyle and you miss out on that lifestyle if you don’t have a dog. And people simply look better with a dog at their side!

The reason I bring this up in this week’s Pet Column is because I just “stole the show” at the Telluride AIDS Benefit Student Fashion Show last week.  I catwalked the crap out of that show and many thought I was a professional dog model (or a dodel). But no, I am just a homeless dog looking for love – although I had a blast at the fashion show and am thinking of making a career out of modeling.

Another reason for this discussion is that everyone in the region has fashion on the brain this week because of the Telluride AIDS Benefit fashion extravaganza happening Thursday and Saturday. Although I won’t be on the catwalk for those shows, I am a model dog who is still available for adoption to help complete your outer look  – and inner fulfillment.

And, if I haven’t been adopted by the weekend,  I plan an encore at Second Chance’s own Fashion Cabaret: the Seventh Annual Wine & Whiskers Weekend here in Ridgway!. (Visit Second Chance’s website for details)

SPOT looking oh so elegant

By the way, my name is Spot and I am a 4ish-year-old Jack Russell Terrier mix who just grooves on life and makes love the best fashion statement of all.

Editor’s note: It’s no secret. The Telluride region is dog heaven. Well, pet heaven. Unless you are one of our furry friends who gets caught in the maw of neglect and abuse. Then heaven is on hold until Second Chance Humane Society comes to the rescue. Second Chance is the region’s nonprofit dedicated to saving animals’ lives and promoting responsible pet parenting and human-animal bond. In her weekly blog, executive director Kelly Goodin profiles at least one, generally two of the many animals now living at the no-kill shelter, Angel Ridge Shelter, a dog and a cat, hoping to find them loving permanent homes. The column is sponsored by Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch & Kennel, who from time to time exercises his skills as a dog whisperer, partnering with Kelly and her staff to help train a particularly challenging animal.