Exclusive offer for RVA Muttropolis readers:

Receive $5 off any Wag-in-the-Box purchase this fall!  Promo code: (case sensitive!) 5Wags4RVAMuttropolis

You’ve likely heard the buzz around Birch Box for people; well, this is Fido’s local-to-RVA edition.  Sample the best boutique shop treats, chews, and toys—all natural and health conscious ingredients.  It makes for the perfect gift for the dog-lover, especially those who have it all!  Wag-in-the-Box will also make a donation to a charity of your choosing, like Fetch a Cure.

Gift a friend a few months subscription and they’ll thank you over and over again.  Here’s to waggy tails.

THE DOG ECONOMY:  
It’s bigger than the beauty product industry.  Wrap your paws around that for a minute.

American Pet Products Association (APPA) reports that its 2011-2012 National Pet Owners survey found 62 percent of United States households own a pet; that’s roughly 72.9 million homes.  It also reports that in 2011, $50.96 billion—yes, with a B—was spent on pets in the United States.

How to make money in the $50 billion pet industry.

Howl-O-Ween in RVA

Within a neighborhood crowd of hundreds, I took the blue ribbon for a costume contest.  At five years old, I was Little Bo Peep and my Yorkshire Terrier, Duchess, was the sheep.  My mom helped me glue about 100 cotton balls onto a baby costume.  Duchess surprisingly loved it.  Maybe it was warm or maybe she just basked in the attention.  In the end, the judges revoked my “best costume of the year” after public backlash—Duchess was oozing so much cuteness that they disqualified us as unfair competition.  Sour grapes?

For the love of blogging, I will share this photo. Circa 1980’s.

Luckily, canine costume contests are now all the rage.  I like to think that I played some small part in the trendsetting.  Duchess is posthumously a trailblazer.

Here are three costume contests for Fido in the RVA area this month:

Costumes for a Cure: October 30, 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. happy yappy hour, followed by pet costume contest at Station 2.  Sponsored by Fetch a Cure, Wag-in-the-Box, CVVA, inLieu, and Station 2.

Stony Point Fashion Park: Costume Contest for dogs October 21 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Prizes sponsored by Three Dog Bakery.  Refreshments and trick-or-treats for pups. 

Chesterfield County: Calling all costumed canines! The Ruff House Dog Park is hosting its annual Howl-A-Woof event at Rockwood Park, Saturday, Oct. 20, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Dogs big and small can compete in a costume contest to see which is the best dressed, while humans can enjoy food and drinks, and browse the merchandise available for sale. A musical sit competition will challenge both two and four-legged competitors. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Friends of Ruff House Dog Park, a not-for-profit volunteer organization sanctioned by the Chesterfield County Department of Parks and Recreation to maintain and improve the park and enforce rules.