"Sure The Kids Are Cute, But Have You Seen Our Dog?" or "Is That a Dog on Your Purse or Are You Just Happy to See Me?"

I want to introduce you to my new friend Sharyn, She carries a small clutch made by FeeFiFoto that features a picture of her dog, a Tibetan Terrier named Violet, on each side. Now, Sharyn says her kids are cute too, but she hesitates to put their photos on a purse. "Not only for security reasons," explains Sharyn "but also for reasons of practicality. First, the kids will change: teeth are lost and replaced, hair is shorter or longer, fashions evolve. Not that I carry the same handbag year after year, but if I put the kids' picture on a purse it'll obsolesce as soon as I drive it out of the parking lot."

It's astonishing how much attention this puppy purse generates. "When Violet's with me, people look at the purse and then at the dog and then back to the purse and their faces light up. And somehow, no matter how cute your kids are, photos of them never seem to have the same effect. Even if the dog's not with me people still comment on the bag, and charming them is a slam dunk when I say that's not just any dog on my purse -- it's my dog."

When it comes to Violet, Sharyn is very clear. "We love her deliriously and think she is just about the most delightful dog we've ever met, and the cleverest (she learned how to turn on our sprinklers when she wanted a drink)."