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Healthy people, of course, shouldn’t be buying face masks to guard against coronavirus: They won’t keep you from getting sick, but they will take much-needed resources away from the already-infected and medical professionals. I am not sure what the rule is for dogs, whether they should invest in some kind of maw protection; purely as an aesthetic choice, though, this hypebeast is making a compelling case for the snout mask. And also, definitively settling the debate about how a dog would wear pants, on four legs or two. (Two, obviously; otherwise where does its shirt go?)
Look at her. Does she not look prepared for any situation, including but not limited to shopping in Soho? Does she look like she’s going to let the threat of a pandemic stop her from hitting this Supreme drop? No, she does not. Fashion dog is calm, and carrying on. Fashion dog is ready.
Which may be for the best, as it appears that dogs can get infected by coronavirus, or at least one can: Hong Kong has confirmed one “low-level” case of apparent human-to-canine transmission. Luckily, health officials suspect there is little cause for alarm, as the afflicted dog has shown no symptoms and does not appear to have passed the virus to any of its peers. Gregory C. Gray, an infectious-disease epidemiologist at Duke University, told the Washington Post he doesn’t “see any reason to change the social connectivity with our dogs or other dogs or to put any sort of respiratory apparatus on the dogs, like we’ve seen on the internet.” Admittedly, a snout mask does not look particularly comfortable.
But does he see any good reason to put tiny trendy sweatshirts on dogs? Little Balenciaga-looking neon booties? Would doing so serve a practical purpose as well as a fashion purpose, because an outfit preserves fur against contagion? Who knows! If your dog doesn’t mind wearing clothes, possibly best to err on the side of caution and dress it in stylish shoesies, just in case it wants to touch your face later. And maybe also a sleek turtleneck suit, while you’re at it. ’Tis the season.
