Though the Internet, this time of year, seems full of photos of dogs dressed as geishas and cats in hats, dressing up your pets for Halloween is a fad that’s not exactly sweeping the continent. In fact, according to Newsday.com:

An Associated Press-Petside.com poll showed that only 8 percent of pet owners plan to dress their animals for Halloween.

The reasons the non-participating pet owners give are pretty much what you’d expect: The animals, cats especially, just won’t stand for it; the owners think it’s demeaning; nobody would see the costumes anyway. (That one is certainly true in my neighborhood, where Halloween means firecrackers, and most pets spend the evening hiding in the quietest place they can find.) One man whose cat has severe allergies says her food is so expensive, he’s not prepared to spend any more on her. I doubt the cat minds.

I myself gave up on the idea almost 40 Halloweens ago, when I had to admit that our cat hated the handcrafted bunny ears I’d made for her. After shaking her head a lot, she managed to claw them off and get rid of them somewhere. I hadn’t realized they’d be uncomfortable, but I knew that cats didn’t put up with discomfort if they could help it.

Ever since then, much as I love my pets and enjoy Halloween, I’ve been aware that the two don’t mix well. That’s okay – two of our society’s faults are making special occasions so elaborate they’re not fun anymore, and expecting animals to act like humans.

There’s always a place – or should I say a site? – for funny pet photos. But if you can’t get yours into a costume long enough to pose, or if you just don’t feel like it – nobody minds, least of all your pet.