Is dressing your dog in advocacy gear over the top?
The accidental joy I witnessed from a dog harness
Last month, I experienced a dog-walking moment that has stayed on my mind since then. While I waited for one of my client’s dogs to relieve himself, I spotted an oncoming car out of the corner of my eye. Carefully cruising by the roundabout in the middle of the street, the 30-something white driver stopped near me, smiled wide enough to show off all of his teeth and said, “I hope you have an amazing day!” He glanced at the dog I was walking, then at me again and waved goodbye. A little puzzled, I returned his smile and waved back.
This was such a curiously warm greeting from someone I didn’t know that it made me wonder, “What did I miss?”
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This wasn’t just a friendly driver. There was clearly something I did that impressed him. I watched his car drive by and spotted a glimpse of a rainbow bumper sticker. Then, it hit me. The dog I was walking was wearing a rainbow harness. Aha! He thought I was fam.
Seeing this dog rainbow harness for him was like me seeing a dog wearing a “Juneteenth” bandana or a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt. While I was busy trying to find Juneteenth events to celebrate last month — the anniversary when I adopted my dog — I’d forgotten that June was also Pride Month. (This dog wore the rainbow harness all year long, minus a brief switch to skulls in October, so I’d stopped paying attention to its significance.)
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On my way home after walking my favorite Wag! dog, I thought about how enthusiastic I am when it comes to wearing “Black Lives Matter” attire, my “Black Girls Rock” hoodie and T-shirts, and a “Why I Vote” Black History T-shirt (even when it’s not election season). However, I had never considered buying anything for my dog. I’d already named her Junee in reference to Juneteenth, but that was about it.
Part of the reason is that I have a love-hate relationship with dog clothes (minus dog coats). The other reason is I’ve generally shied away from affiliating my dog with any type of social or political movement, mainly because it’s not voluntary. If the dog has no say in what I put on her, why bother acting like it? Well, there was that one time when I had a whole photo shoot of Junee, who walked over to a Kamala Harris yard sign and refused to leave that person’s property. I took out my smartphone and took full advantage of it.
But is it a bit much to dress your dog up in advocacy clothing?