Alfie has already outgrown the red jumper we bought when he arrived and the dog walkers had mentioned that he was a bit shivery (even for a Chihuahua) when out and about. So as it is a bit far to get to the fabulous dog boutiques over in Essex which are frequented by the likes of Elvis and Ralph from TOWIE, I headed into Knightsbridge to Harrods.
Now the main door signs indicate that only guide dogs are allowed but if you have an up to date vaccination record you can use door 3 to get up to Pet Kingdom on the fourth floor. Whether you take your dog along or not you simply have to visit, for here you will find everything that the pampered pet could possibly desire.
There’s all sorts of confections from the Dog Bakery (and Canine Cookies), a pupcorn stand, dog beds (even a rather grand four poster), dog bags, dog bowls (with bow ties, diamonds and gold leaf) and separate concessions for the leading designer dog brands (e.g. Chewy Vuitton).
There are puppy treat packs (tested on humans) and Dog Head shampoos and conditioners. There are more displays of collars and leads than you can shake a stick at and I even found gem encrusted collars and some beautiful dark green Harrods collars for the dog around town. And there are racks and racks of dog toys – squeezies, softies, tuggies and chewies in every shape, size and colour imaginable. But there is also a huge area for cats too.
Then there is the Dog Spa. Large windows provide you with the opportunity to watch the staff at their work. There was a chap lovingly combing out a white puff ball and two women treating a rather relaxed black spaniel to a relaxing blow dry. There were no takers for the dog exercise machine (I kid you not) which had a TV screen at the end – what do they play on that I wondered, re-runs of Lassie?
There are large glass fronted rooms where creatures for sale are on display. But be reassured that there are also lots of warnings and signs that explain how seriously Harrods takes the process of selling pets. On display were some darling miniature dachshunds (£1,700 each) and some cute Cairn Terriers (£1,500). In the next display were some stunning stretched out Bengal kittens (£1,000) and I couldn’t fight my way through the crowds of kids watching the smaller creatures – there were, I think, rabbits and guinea pigs and hamsters.
The staff were marvellous – I enquired about tiny dog collars as although Alfie has progressed from the humiliation of having to wear a kitten collar, his current collar is still rather loose. The kind assistant explained that small dogs often have problems with their tracheas and so it is best to have a body harness. We had a chat with a lady there who was trying to guess the size of her Jack Russell back at home. There was simply too much choice so I focused on my main task – something to keep Alfie warm. Especially bearing in mind the snow forecast.
Around a corner and we reached what we were looking for – Dog Fashions. There were jumpers, fleeces and coats in a rainbow array of colours. For those with girl dogs there were even dresses and skirts – oh my! There was also a large rack of fancy dress outfits – I was sorely tempted by the Pirates of the Caribbean range complete with skull and crossbones and also a macho camouflage uniform. The prices on some of these items were beyond belief.
I found some lovely tee shirts stating “I love London” which would be perfect for Alfie in this blog but they weren’t warm enough. So we choose a rather fine navy, red and white heavyweight turtle neck jumper – with a nod to Ralph Lauren - with stripes and a bone motif (see picture above where Alfie is modelling his new outfit). At the checkout we couldn’t help spy a Debrett’s and Harrods guide to “Petiquette” and that too ended up in our basket.
Dog shopping heaven is on the fourth floor at Harrods.
