Only in New York? Perhaps, but it’s happening. In May, a night club for pampered pooches is opening in the Financial District of Manhattan, enabling owners to drop off their dogs for ‘homemade meals, holistic mud spa thingimajiggers, and possibly even a disco dance club’. Did anyone mention recession?

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Dogs have finally graduated from unwilling fashion victims. You know the ones: strolling the streets with their pink booties, rhinestone collars and ever-popular powder blue t shirts. Now they can stand as distinguished animals, joining the linguistic world and representing a font type. Eurostyle is my favorite. Woof!

Damn hipster dogs coming in here with their parents’ money, acting like they own the place, not respecting us real dogs who know what real culture and art are. We were here first and we knew about all those bands before they did.

Exploiting the fetishism for dog clothes, Beedogs is a site dedicated to pictures of dogs dressed like bees. You can submit your own photos of your pup getting ready to sting, but Photoshopped photos are not accepted. No, you just have to dress up your dog with a nice bee costume and then take its picture.

There’s photos of cute dogs. In beds. And lots of them. At Feature Shoot. Woof Woof.

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Ever wondered what your puppy was saying under its meaty breath? Well, Japanese toy manufacturer, Takara Tomy, has the answer. The Bowlingual claims to unlock the mysteries behind doggie chatter, sending messages directly from your pal’s vocal chords and into a hand held LCD screen. It’s magic! And it really works. Wait, what’s that Fido? You want beer, and lots of it?

Why don’t dogs like Halloween? This is the title of an article on the Urlesque website, which recently featured the craziest costumes of the canine world for Halloween night. Dogs with manes, a dog being bitten by a crocodile, the All-American football player, the giraffe, the tarantula, and the shrimp are just some of the pseudo-artistic expressions that these poor animals are subjected to.

Making your poodle into a miniature parade float may seem cruel and unusual, but my hunch is that the pups love it. What other breed can be shaved into the shape of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle? It’s all about the poodle pride.

I can’t wait for it to get cold so I can dress my puppy Selma Lou in her new cable sweater from Dogs Department. Made from wool imported from Italy, it’s ultra warm and fits her like a glove. Like a kid wanting to wear their new fall clothes on the first day of school, she’s tried it on a couple of times (with hood and without hood) and has assured me she won’t gain anymore weight and that it will fit next year as well. Now, all the Brooklyn dogs are going to want to know her and sniff her butt. Good times!

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We asked Melbourne-based artist Justin Williams to tell us about his work: ‘I am always interested in the way humans and animals relate to each other, and the similarities we share, as well as the major differences. This work was inspired by my girlfriend’s dog, and a photo of her as a child, joining the two together as if they both cant make decisions without the other’.

Our favourite online pooch supply boutique — Dogs Department — recently released items from their Spring-Summer 2008 range, and they’re as cheery and well made as we’ve come to expect from the Amsterdam-based company. Our particular weakness is for the ‘ultra warm and soft fleece turtle neck sweater’ which is ‘accented with silver embroidery and leash hole’. Hmmm, which discerning puppy wouldn’t want one of these? Pooch not included with orders …