Dear Costumed Crusaders,

I read a somewhat disturbing factoid yesterday from the National Retail Federation (NRF): this year Americans will spend $490 million dollars on Halloween costumes for pets. The article also noted that the amount has doubled since 2010. Of course, for many years now, Halloween has been the second most decorated holiday; total Halloween spending is projected to be $8.8 billion this year, a slight pull-back from the $9 billion spent in 2018. Given those aggregate numbers, $490 million doesn’t seem like a whole lot for that incredibly original idea to make your dachshund look like a Chicago-style hotdog. Lest you think this will be a pastoral moral diatribe about wasted money, it’s not; if you’re unable to be appalled by that number all by yourself, I’m not sure I can help you. No, I’m musing over why Halloween has become