Pooch Bling!

Last night I ordered a new "going out" collar for Princess Ava. I feel it's important to have an around the house collar for everyday use, plus something pretty for special occasions. Billie already has one - as she's modelling in the picture below, but she has a lovely black coat that goes with just about anything. 

Ava has red fawn fur, which is more difficult to match, but I've eventually decided on a pretty blue feathers design (which also means both girls will have blue going out collars, which is kind of cute). 

Both collars from the awesome Collars By Christine: www.facebook.com/collarsbychristine/

But there were so many other pretty collars that I think I'll need to let the girls have a few each. Which got me to thinking about other pooch accessories. Both girls have winter coats:

And I may have been tempted to put scarves on them in the past. They just have such lovely long necks!

And Ava had painted nails when she first arrived, courtesy of her foster mother. I've bought more pink for her, and a lovely bottle of purple for Billie, but haven't got around to putting them on yet. In fact, I even have a scene in The Finn Factor where the characters paint the nails of the border collie, Harvey.

But this all makes me think about how much I'm paying attention to their accessories, when I hadn't given it much thought with all of my previous pooches. Perhaps the girls have a touch of glamour that lends itself to accessorizing? Or maybe the world is changing - pretty collars like the ones at the top of the post were hard to find 10 or 15 years ago.

What about you? Have you ever put a particularly nice collar on your pooch or kitty? Bought them accessories? Maybe a lovely coat? What about painting their nails? Please tell me I'm not alone in this!

My New Family Member

 This week we welcomed a new Bailey family member. Her name is Ava and she's a rescued greyhound. She's settling in well, and the other Bailey dogs are gradually getting used to her, but the humans are totally in love with her already.

She's sweet, patient, and as long as she has a soft place to nap, she's very happy. I haven't had much to do with greyhounds before, but I'm a complete convert!

But one interesting thing happened: have a look at the close-up of her feet - she arrived with painted toenails. Such a sweet gesture from a foster mum who was sad to let her go. 

Coincidentally, my May book, The Finn Factor, has a Border Collie called Harvey who very much resembles my Jazzie May (who passed on a year ago), and there's a scene where the hero's little sister paints Harvey's nails. I've never done it to any of my own dogs, so to have Ava arrive with bright pink nails after writing that scene seemed like a sign that Ava was meant to be part of our family!

Tell me, have you ever painted a dog's nails before, or seen one with painted nails? Or have you ever dressed your dog or cat up in a costume, or put bows in their fur? I'm starting to wonder if I need to pay more attention to my dogs' presentation!