With Valentine’s Day approaching, it’s as good a time as any to remember that love isn’t about buying power.  The days of homemade Valentine cards and cookies seems like a nostalgic bit of “yester-decade” compared to the quickie red and white heart shaped stuff available for animals (and humans) almost everywhere.

Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a thoughtful gesture or gift, but instead of listing Valentine products for pets, this year we’re offering up reminders for quick & simple handmade smiles for the dogs and cats in tour life, from the obvious to the ingenious.

Remember, safety first: keep animals under supervision when playing with toys.   Regularly inspect all toys for damage and throw away toys that are losing parts (or coming apart) to prevent your friend from ingesting anything harmful.

FELINE

• Bag It Up: before you recycle that paper bag, offer it to your feline friend for a little fun
• Box It Up: same goes for that cardboard box
• Tell a Yarn: make a quick yarn pom-pom
• Take a Nip: Uee a small bit of fabric and stitch up a quick pillow, stuff it with catnip!  Optional: stuff with a crumpled bit of wax paper for cats who love crinkle
• Check out more ideas and these tips (these aren’t Queen Endorsed, but they look fun!)

CANINE

• Mateless Socks: tie a knot in that old single sock and toss it to your canine friend as a new toy
• 15-Love: Upcycle those deflated tennis balls and toss one to your pal
• Cutoffs: Old denim is sturdy enough for most dogs, and can be stitched and stuffed to make a retrieving toy
• Hope for a Rope: Cut up those old T-shirts into strips; tie a knot at one end of the bundled strips; braid the remaining strips; tie another knot at the end for a one of a kind rope toy
• For more ideas, check out this Bark Post