A smart buyer's guide to style and services

Time Out Chicago / Issue 77: August 17–23, 2006

Review

Shop doggy dog

Pamper your pooch in style at these new pet boutiques.

By Kevin Aeh Photographs by Donna Rickles

Pocket Puppies
Miniature puppies aren’t just great fashion accessories, contrary to what Paris Hilton might have you think. They’re great dogs, as you’ll discover at this ode to all things yippy and yappy. Here, you can buy tiny toys, clothes and other small accessories, and adopt miniature puppies to which they cater. But you’d better be serious about your purchase—and not just because these dogs start at $1,150. The boutique is not only careful about where it gets its puppies from (no puppy mills, only family breeders) and how they’re treated in the shop (heated puppy cubicles are lined with fleece and there’s a full-time veterinarian on staff), but also where the pooches end up. The shop will not send puppies to families with children under 15, and every potential caretaker must fill out a qualifying questionnaire and go through a 45-minute orientation. A grooming area—also available for walk-in clients—features a basic service ($30–$75), which involves a milk-and-honey shampoo, Hawaiian massage, manicure, pedicure and lavender ear wash.
Must-have: Just look at that face. Do we really need to tell you?
2479 N Clark St at Fullerton Ave (773-857-1519).

Doggy Style
The contents of your kitchen cabinets look like the aisles of Whole Foods. You’re eating well, but what about your pets? Put away the Puppy Chow, because Doggy Style stocks a varied selection of high-end dog food—and cuisine for cats—including the organic Karma line ($45 for a 15lb bag), which features unusual ingredients such as red beets and green-tea extract, and the all-natural Nature’s Variety prairie brand ($10 for a 5lb bag). Caretakers can also spoil their pups guilt-free with baked goods and organic ice cream. Doggy Style isn’t exclusively about the canine eats, though. It also carries the collars, chew toys and clothes—most organic or hemp, of course—you’d expect a pet boutique to stock. And anyone who’s ever tried to wash a dog in the bathtub will appreciate the two large self-wash tubs in the back with multispeed showerheads. Doggy Style provides the goods (brushes, products and towels) so you can get your dog clean without making a mess at home. After spending just a few moments here, you’ll forget about the mental—and very adult—image that comes to mind when you first see the name of the shop.
Must-have: The ostrich tendon snack ($8) might not sound appetizing to you, but Doggy Style says the treat is a big hit among the four-legged crowd.
2023 W Division St at Damen Ave (773-235-9663).