We’ve all seen the plethora of Star Wars related merchandise flood the market several months before The Force Awakens hit theaters, and I was the first to throw up my hands and say, “Enough already!” Sorry but oranges have nothing to do with BB-8! However, the Petco line of Star Wars goods for pets is actually a perfect use of the license.
There are over 40 different items in the line, mostly original series but with several special The Force Awakens items. Petco sent our family a small sampling of items to try out and while the humans love some of them more than our pets, all of the items are awesome!
Besides the humans in our household, our family consists of two dogs and two cats, so we received a Darth Vader dog bed, a Chewbacca water bowl, Yoda and Captain Phasma dog chew toys, Yoda and Chewbacca catnip toys, a BB-8 dog sweatshirt, a Chewbacca dog bandana, and a R2-D2 dog hat.
The most surprising thing upon inspecting all of the items was the price–to be honest, I expected these to be way more expensive than similar, non-branded items, and they are not! As an example, the stainless steel Chewbacca water bowl is $9.99. I’ve paid more than that for plain stainless steel bowls! Speaking of which, we were in need of a new water bowl for our dogs, so this item was the most practical and has been used the most consistently since arriving.
Our cats immediately took to their toys–cats plus catnip toys equals sure winner. They obviously don’t care about the branding, but we get a kick out of watching them chase Yoda and Chewie around.
Our bigger dog Pepper fit the BB-8 sweatshirt perfectly, and she actually didn’t have any problems keeping it on and wearing it. This is perfect since it’s pretty cold here in Seattle right now and she has a pretty short and thing fur coat. The Chewbaca bandana also fit her perfectly but isn’t as practical right now. I think I’ll break it out again in the spring or summer.
The R2-D2 hat fit our little Katie dog perfectly although she was much more resistant to the idea. If your dog will wear a hat, this hat is just too adorable. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll get anymore use out of it.
Pepper also immediately took to the Yoda chew toy–it has crinkle paper in his body and a squeaker in his head. Unfortunately, Yoda only lasted a day before Pepper had destroyed him. I want to be extra clear that this is not because the toy was not well made. Even indestructible toys rarely last more than a day with Pepper. Suffice it to say that she has a pretty powerful chewer.
Before Captain Phasma could meet the same fate, my son, feeling left out of all the Star Wars love decided that Captain Phasma was his and ran off with her to the safety of his bedroom right beside his bed.
The cats have made the Vader dog bed their own although my son also tried to curl up in it. It’s really well made and very soft, and, thankfully, the Vader theme was executed well just like all of the other pieces. None of them seem to have had the Star Wars theme slapped haphazardly on to the items, but were designed from the ground up to fit with the theme. (Okay, maybe a water bowl with a Chewie bandolier is stretching it, but its still executed well).
If you want your pets to reflect your geekdom in their toys and accessories, head over to your nearest Petco, or check them out online. I promise you won’t be disappointed with the quality or price of the items, and you’ll enjoy playing with them with your pets.
May the force be with you and your pets!
