Some fun items for pets and their people

15 October 2012

I spent the weekend at the H.H. Backer Pet-Industry Trade Show, where I saw booth after booth of products for pets and their owners. I thought I’d share some of the items I brought home for my own animals.

First, though, I must tell you about Roll Over Rover Threads the apparel and housewares company I was there to represent. My wonderful friend, Sally, is the creative genius behind (and owner of) this company and her stuff is to die for. I own a whole wardrobe of ROR t-shirts and sweatshirts and am dying to get my hands on her new dog dishes.

Here’s one of her popular designs, which graces a hoodie and a t-shirt:

We were next door to Paw Paws as I think we’ve been every show (and this was our fifth show). Paw Paws sells beautiful leashes, collars and harnesses. The ribbons are designed by the talented and lovely CEO, Anne Nutter. I already have a bunch of these gorgeous collars, but couldn’t resist bringing home a new collar for my standard poodle, Kirby. (I got him a red chevron collar, a pattern so new it’s not even on the website yet. But below is a photo of another one of my favorite Paw Paws collars.)

Kirby is what you might call energetic on a walk, which can lead to a sore leash hand. I was thrilled to learn about Spindrift Safety Leashes, which have a neoprene-lined handle, which is so soft on the skin. It also has an extra handle right down near the clip, a terrific feature for when I need extra control with Kirby.

When I was helping Sally at the Backer show last year, we were placed across the aisle from Hugglehounds, designers of cute and durable dog toys. I brought one home for Kirby last year, and he took painstaking pleasure in tearing it apart over time. So I couldn’t resist bringing another home for him.

Here’s a photo of the toy Kirby loves, from the Lola and Penelopes site where you can buy this toy.

I didn’t forget about Joe, my orange tabby cat, when I was at Backer. I brought him home a Aikiou Stimulo Interactive Cat Feeding Station and Activity Center . I don’t know if Joe will love or hate the way this makes mealtime more interesting, but I was intrigued, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I love my pets and I know you love yours. Fifteen to 20 years ago, I shopped a whole lot more for them than I do now (probably the effect of my becoming a professional organizer). But it was a lot of fun to come home with some goodies for my babies. (I also brought a fancy chocolate bar for my husband, Barry.)