Dressed up to the "K" nines By Jo Allison

It might not be over the top as L.A. or be home to the ludicrously lavish lifestyles of Paris Hilton, but Beverley can proudly boast that it's home to some wonderfully, well-dressed dogs. Just take a look inside the wonderfully doggy dressing up box, situated down Lairgate, Beverley. The Dog Shop is the fashionable dog owner's best-friend.

When I stopped by, I happened to walk into the shop at exactly the right time; a little Chihuahua (I won't embarrass him by mentioning his name) was having his wardrobe fitting. Hats, scarves, jackets and jumpers were lovingly tugged onto his tiny body, and he proudly tottered around the shop, obviously enjoying the attention. (Perhaps however, not enjoying his new hat quite so much.) The dress up session lasted a good half hour, and the outcome was a rather lavish sum of money being spent on one very pampered pooch. Susan Oliver is the proprietor of this beautiful boutique, which she opened two years ago.

The idea of a dog shop was sparked off by a trip to The Cat Gallery in York, only Sue's preferred animal of choice happens to be dog.

The idea for doggy clothing and accessories isn't just a frivolous one however, as Sue explains, "My old dog, that is no longer with us had a big lump in her side which she had to have removed and I just needed something to protect it. I ended up at Boyes with a little toddler's baseball jacket and it looked really really good. Everyone said, oh that looks really good, where did you get that? That was just the start, I started thinking maybe people would be interested in designer wear for dogs" and evidently people are very interested." Sue has built up a loyal customer base, "I get a lot of regular local customers I get a lot of people that come here to Beverley occasionally and make a conscious effort to come in here"

The clientele don't half spend. Perhaps it's because the Puppia range that Sue stocks is rather exclusive; Harrods, London, stocks the same range.

Sue's biggest claim to fame is that a valued customer who lives in London "rang me from Harrods pet department because she needed something for her dog for a BBQ she was going to, we share a lot of our products with Harrods, but things there are £20, £30 more than here" and so Sue was the lady to sort out the poor little K9's fashion quandary.

Harrods just wasn't quite exclusive enough!

However frivolous the array of doggy perfumes, floral leads, sparkly collars and special dog biscuit bins (etc!) may seem, Sue explains that there are other motivations behind dressing your favourite puppy in something you could wear yourself. "Things, like shoes are less of a fashion statement and more about medical reason, if the dog's got an allergy to salt, or got cracked paws, or is allergic to grass or seeds owners will buy them. Also they may buy a jacket to keep warm rather, others will buy it just because they think the dog looks good in it. I've not got that many customers who buy just for fashion, they have another belief or a reason for buying it." But what other reason do you need apart from making your mutt a la mode?

And doggy fashion, along with human, certainly has its big trends and seasonal best sellers, "The best seller last year was the number 5 ski jacket, in pink. We seemed to have moved more into sweaters and scarves; they are going to be in 'in the dog scene'! Hoody's are definitely in this year."

Sue sources her products from different places, "I try to find more unusual things, not just things that are in Hammond's, sometimes from trade shows, sometimes I'll get things sent through the post. The most recent thing is edible greetings cards, totally edible advent calendars made from raw hide chew, in fact I've nearly sold all of those and I haven't even put them on display yet."

Even if you don't own a dog yourself, that is no reason not to stop by. A massive array of greetings cards, stationary, soft toys and ornaments, all doggy-themed naturally are sold inside this little cave of doggy delight. Why not stop by, 46 Lairgate, Beverley, or visit The Dog Shops website; www.the-dog-shop.co.uk

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