Yellowknife (Nov 17/04) - Your dog may worship you and your cat may tolerate your presence, but what will your home be like if you leave them off the Christmas list? To avoid spotty carpets and chewed footwear, you may want to walk yourself down to the nearest pet store and check out the latest and noisiest holiday pet treats.

Nicole Hayduk and Buddy, her four-month-old Yorkshire Terrier, model the new Santa suit that will be under the tree Christmas morning. - Chris Hunsley/NNSL photo

"Christmas is our time of year," said Jo-Anne Cooper, owner of Borealis Kennels and Pet Specialties.

Cooper put on a Christmas Pet Showcase Sunday to display all of the shiny, jingly and chewy items she brought in for your favourite pet. Stockings full of doggy bagels, reindeer-shaped bones, Humunga Tongue, a rubber ball with a giant tongue sticking off the end, Sponge Bob pet toys and other novelty items now line her shelves.

"In my view, these will be the most popular," she said holding up a Revenge Chew Toy with "The Vet" printed on the front.

After consulting with her customers as to what toys pets will like, Cooper headed on a buying trip in September. She admitted, though, that she has no particular pattern to her purchases.

"I do try to get more durable toys," she said. "So they can't rip it apart in five seconds."

Christmas pet shopping is not a new phenomenon by any means Jennifer Eggenberger, manager of JJ Hobbies Ltd., said.

"Especially the kids. They love to give stuff for the pets. They always think of them as one of the family."

Laura Johns had a great time buying up her own bag of gifts. After she dropped $62 on gifts for her and her friends' dogs, she admitted, "I even got gift bags to put their gifts in."

One customer that day spent almost $300 buying her dog a new bed, kennel and Santa suit.

The year's big hit for Susan Ashton and LittleMiss, her Lhasa apso mix, were Carolin Critters. The squeeze toys in the shape of different animals mooo, oink, chirp or otherwise sing Christmas carols when squeezed.

"Actually, all my friends' dogs are getting one of these, too," she said hugging LittleMiss tightly in her arms.

Last year, all three of Ashton's dogs passed away within months of each other. This is LittleMiss' first holiday with the family. "We just got her from the SPCA in June, but it's like she's been here forever," Ashton said. "She really has been a treasure from the SPCA."