We spend half a billion dollars torturing our pets with Halloween costumes (Opinion)

Hey animal rights loonies, you want something worth complaining about? Forget about the fur coats and saving lobsters from tanks at Shop Rite. How about putting a stop to the humiliation of domesticated animals at Halloween.

You want a shocking figure? Americans spend nearly half a billion dollars a year at Halloween buying costumes for their pets. That is double what it was ten years ago. Last year 29 million people planned on squeezing their dogs and cats into ridiculous outfits all in the name of fun.

Is it though? And for whom? Don’t most dogs and cats have to be forced into compliance to do something so unnatural to them as wearing clothing? I remember once an agent was talking about a radio station trying to change our show into something it was not and in disgust he used the phrase, “It’s like putting a hat on a dog.”

Indeed.

And why the big increase? They say social media is the cause. Sharing a wacky photo of your cat dressed as a witch or your dog dressed as a pimp gets a lot of likes. In 2020, it’s all about the likes.

So maybe I’m a hypocrite because back in 2015 we did after all do a contest for folks who enjoy this sort of thing. They sent in photos of their own animals trying to win a prize. Here are some of those pics.

But seriously, did any of these creatures look thrilled? Frankly even the snake looks pissed. The only one who doesn’t look put off is the dog wearing the Bob Marley costume but who knows if ganja was involved.

So you tell us New Jersey. Is it cruel to dress up pets? Take our poll.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski. Any opinions expressed are Jeff Deminski's own.