Dog Daily News

Now there's a happy looking dog. Buttercup is a West Highland terrier dressed as a queen bee. We think she should sting the lady behind her for making her wear this costume.

Once again, it’s time for that annual tradition of humiliating your dogs by dressing them up in outlandish costumes and parading them around like hapless  toddlers. Howl-o-mean is what we call it in the office. Last year my people dressed me as a butterfly. A pink butterfly. I will not include the five dozen photos they took. It’s a memory that even therapy can’t erase, try as I might.

The slideshow credit says this is Tuffy the Chihuahua dressed as a skeleton. But obviously the dog IS a skeleton, dressed as a punkster.

The Howl-o-mean season kicked off with the 5th Annual Times Square Dog Day Masquerade. This hallowed ground that rings in the New Year is now the very place that welcomes the season of humiliation.  Check out the poor embarrassed participants in this Huffington Post slide show.

Dogs, a word of advice if your person starts getting that “let’s go to the pet store to see what cute little costume will fit you, poochy-woochy!” look: Run, don’t walk, into the bathroom, lock the door, and don’t come out until Thanksgiving. (Be sure you stock up on provisions now. Hide nonperishable food items in the medicine cabinets and vanity. The toilet will provide all your water needs, so don’t worry about thirst.) Trust me. A month of life in a bathroom is worth it if it can prevent you from years of therapy and recurring nightmares.