A few weeks ago I was out shopping in a major mall when I noticed that they had opened a new gift shop. There are a wide variety of high-end gifts. There was one section that was reserved for designer dog collars and other assorted gifts and apparel for man’s best friend. Across from this section was another display of items for pet cats. The designer dog collars caught my eye because some of them were locked in a display case because they contained gemstones and were worth several hundred dollars. Other of the designer dog collars were on opened display racks. They featured designers names engraved or embroidered on the collars. These of course could be customized with your pet’s name. My husband was with me and we laughed that we should get one of the gemstone collars for our yellow Labrador retriever for his next hunting trip out to the duck slough.

A week later my husband and I were invited to our neighbor’s home for an open house. We do not spend a great deal of time with these neighbors; they tend to run in a different social circle than we do. When we arrived at their home their maid took our coats and directed us to the great room area where the guests had gathered. Once in this room our hostess greeted us. She was holding their small black house dog. Around his neck the dog had on one of the designer dog collars with several large gemstones. The designer dog collar was leather with gold and silver inlaid along with the stones. The hostess saw me looking at the collar and was quick to inform me that she had purchased it at a darling new shop in the mall. She also pointed out that the collar was custom done. The gemstones were the birthstones of her dog’s parents as well as her dog. She was very pleased that such a fine store opened within our community.

On our way home my husband asked me how much I thought the designer dog collar cost. I told him that I did not know, but that all the dogs in the neighborhood would be very jealous if the price of the designer dog collar ever got out.