BY KAREN E. BOWES
Staff Writer
Carrying cases come in every shape and size at the newly relocated Goin’ to the Dogs, a bakery and boutique for dogs and their owners. At left, a feeding bowl is one of the many items for sale. Things in Middletown have really gone to the dogs.Fran Cooperstein has moved her Red Bank doggie couture shop to Middletown’s Union Square shopping plaza, Route 35 south and Apple Farm Road.
Goin’ to the Dogs features everything from a full-service gourmet bakery to tiny white yarmulkes for those special trips to temple.
“In case he has to go to a bar mitzvah,” explained Cooperstein.
PHOTOS BY SCOTT PILLING staff Of course.
The fun doesn’t stop there. There are three full rooms to discover at Goin’ to the Dogs. To avoid getting overwhelmed, Cooperstein suggests starting in the back, at “Celine’s Basement.” This large back room is still under construction, but is already crammed top to bottom with canine-themed giftware and natural dog foods.
“Great for gift giving,” said Cooperstein, holding up a fancy cloth-covered box filled with chewy toys. “It’s a shower gift for someone with a new puppy.”
The giftware section is a shop unto itself. There are greeting cards, toothbrush holders, snow globes and bobble heads, wall clocks, candle holders, napkin dispensers, trivets and soap shaped into the head of your favorite breed.
The center room is the furniture gallery. Here you’ll find polka dot pooch beds, canine couches in 1960s-inspired prints, and hot-pink car seats.
The street-facing showroom is by far the most glamorous. Chanel- and Burberry-inspired leashes with matching collars line one wall, while Donald Pliner leather jackets and Von Dutch hoodies fill racks in the center.
“It’s very couture,” according to Cooperstein.
You can even get four-legged pink Uggs.
The bakery offers all-natural dog-friendly cannoli, hamburgers, lobsters, and bone-shaped birthday cakes.
And don’t forget the accessories.
There are beaded “Sex and the City”-style necklaces to go with that Fourth of July-inspired jumper, hat and goggles to match the space-age silver raincoat.
“We have everything for the dog and its owner,” said Cooperstein. “The latest and the newest.”
To celebrate their arrival in Middletown, Cooperstein is throwing a weekend-long grand opening event this Friday through Sunday. Tomorrow, June 3, there will be a summer pet fashion show from 10 a.m. until noon. Saturday, an artist will be on hand to create portraits of your pooch, and on Sunday, enter the Stupid Pet Tricks contest by dropping off a video.
For more information about any of the these events, or to ask about scheduling a pet massage, call the store at (732) 450-9944 between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.