News Hound Ady & Flo www.sunlive.co.nz

Spring is in the air and the latest of dog fashions are appearing on the catwalk.

Oops, bad choice of words. There will be no catwalking around here. We expect them to run. Fast. Let's put it this way: The bitches are out there strutting their stuff.

The grooviest of fashions are apparent on the streets of the Bay. Dog tags are back in. Well, really dog tags never really went out. The good people at the council send us a trendy new colour every year.

I tried to talk to Ady about what she's wearing, but it appears today she's only wearing a scowl. The only wardrobe advice I got from her was a dressing down. Probably due to me swiping her bone this morning. Don't pull that face darls, the wind might change and you'll stay like that! Mind you, we'd welcome a change of wind – even a bit less of it.

My good friend, the kind and gentle Shelby, is a big woman – we politely call her shapely and voluptuous – and a leading light of haute couture in our street. Just this week she wowed (as in bow-wowed) the fashionistas with her latest creation: The Morepork Hat.

This ensemble is 100 pure and natural, organic morepork down. It's warm as toast when those bitchin' sou'westers blow across from the Kaimais. There's nothing better to keep a dog's ears protected from the elements. Shelby's boss found the morepork down on a local orchard. He thinks it fell from a nest in a downed tree, during all the wind. Poor little birdies, they come from a broken home.

Personally I'm quite taken with the striking red outfit I found in the shed. They tell me it was Diesel's lifejacket, and I nearly fit it, with the straps taken in (quite a lot!) I've always wanted to be the Woman in Red.

If I'm going to wear this swimsuit this summer, I might need some serious waxing.

Funny that some families can manage to have lifejackets for everyone including their visitors and their dogs, yet others haven't learnt the basics of keeping themselves safe and afloat in the unfortunate event of a mishap. But I digress.

Send us your photos of dog fashion and we'll dish out some prizes, plus put the best in the paper next week.

Until then, my pretties, keep yourselves nice.

Ciao, Flo.