pamperedpuppy // luxury lifestyles for dogs

Barkering Up The Right Tree

Didn't Barbra Streisand sing that people who need dogs are the luckiest dogs in the world? Word among the dogarazzi these days is that Ben Stiller has sent La Divina Babs several gift baskets from Harry Barker, Inc., purveyor of canine-licious fine goods. Gisele Buendchen's Yorkie and Greg Allman's toy poodle have been delightfully spoiled with Harry Barker products. Paula Deen and Skeet Ulrich too are Harry Barker customers. Remember; you got a first leg up on this hot dog news right here; Woof! Woof!

Harry Barker bathrobes for dogs may be made of softest terrycloth, but in a figurative sense everything this very special company crafts is the product of a silver lining. Company founder Carol Perkins is a classically-beautiful, gracious and cosmopolitan lady. As a professional model she appeared on the cover of ever so many glamorous fashion titles, including the French Votre Beauté and the ooh la la Victoria's Secret. Penn & Teller were seduced by her charms and she performed as a fire-eater in their act, gaining notice in People and The New York Times. Breathing flames, she appeared in a stunning Bergdorf Goodman print advertisement, looking like five-hundred million dollars, sporting a dress and high-heels designed by Akris, the haute couture house headquartered in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The image is enough to make a well-groomed St. Bernard drool.

When a dramatic health crisis sidelined her, Carol spent her recuperation time dogsitting friends' pooches in her New York apartment. Artistically inclined, she began creating garments for those dogs. "My mother instilled in me a commitment to being proud of whatever you make with your hands," Carol says. "She has great patience for taking her time and letting a piece evolve." Some of Carol's earliest designs, including the doggy bathrobe, grew out of necessity. "One of my regular little charges at the time was Puggie the Pug. He had a water fetish, and would exuberantly throw himself into the tub whenever it was full. Entertaining to watch, but then I'd have this wet dog running around my apartment. After pinning towels on him a few times, I thought 'There has to be a better way.' That's when I created the doggy bathrobe. People would laugh, but when they saw how practical and fashionable the garment is, they were won over."

Restored to good health, Carol made a diligent barking study of how to get a doggy business off the ground. A number of factors led to her naming the company Harry Barker . Her sister, the artist Cindy Perkins had a sheepdog Fanny Barker. Playing with that, Carol liked the whole sound and feel of the name Harry Barker, as it has a combined Ralph Lauren-esque and K-9 ring. "People call our office, asking to speak with Harry Barker," she says. "That's hilarious, because at this point I really do have a Sheltie named Harry Barker. Men with the actual name Harry Barker telephone to discuss it. Most of them hated their name in elementary school, because at every attendance call, the other children would start yelping."

Now about Harry Barker the Sheltie. He is a blue merle with an air of casual nobility. Carol thinks he looks like Richard Gere; Mr. Gere could not be reached for comment. At one point, discussing her human love life, Carol told a reporter "I'm looking for a Sheltie trapped in a man's body." I asked what she had meant by that. "God, where do I begin? Sheltie's are incredibly loyal," she says. "They are gentle down to their bones, and slightly reserved, cautious, I could say. They hold back a little, giving a sense of mystery. Then too, they have that ruff. I love a ruff that you get to run your fingers through. Means I like chest hair; what can I say?" The good news is that Carol has found a Sheltie-like man and married him, without being unduly distracted from her limitless love of dogs.

Look at Harry Barker's vintage-style doggy tennis balls, look at the company's all-natural dog biscuits in their vintage inspired tin and at the landmark preppy striped dog beds -- the images are so powerfully evocative of F. Scott Fitzgerald in The Hamptons during the Roaring Twenties that you half expect Gatsby himself to appear, luxuriously swaddled in a Harry Barker terrycloth bathrobe. Given all of Carol's fabulous connections, I asked how she might plan an excursion to The East End of Long Island. "We'll arrive in a burgundy-colored Bentley limousine with a Harry Barker organic cotton car seat cover, monogrammed and custom fitted to the Bentley's back seat. The tony stripes on Harry's collars and leashes will blend right in at the Hamptons Classic Horse Show. Our hosts, so famous that we can't mention their names without getting barred from the invite lists, will receive Harry Barker gift sets stuffed full with treats and toys. In my eco-friendly tote bag, I'll have our comme il faut air freshener. And not that I want to be indiscreet, but I'll definitely bring along our biodegradable Number 2 bags. They're the last thing I want to be caught without when at a Caspian Sea caviar and brut de brut champagne reception under a pristine summer catering tent."

In line with that Hamptons' image is the Harry Barker spa kit. A comfy spa towel with an embroidered logo is accompanied by various deluxe dog care products. At this writing, the spa kit's paw balm is being reformulated and should be to market by fall, 2008. I asked Carol how Harry Barker paw, skin and fur-care products go from planning to consumer sale. "The prototyping process takes up to a year," she says. "I work with veterinarian chemists, trying to tap into what's trendy in the personal care sector. When I decided to include prickly pear in some of our products, for instance, I was doing research on ingredients that would have all the moisturizing and healing properties of aloe yet be more anti-septic and astringent, without drying. We tweak, fine-tune and reformulate until the product is perfect. That tireless quest for perfection really makes the brand stand out."

Harry Barker, Inc. (www.harrybarker.com) got started in Savannah, Georgia but now has home offices in Charleston, South Carolina. "This is an extremely dog-friendly community," Carol points out. "Mayor Joe Riley is himself a dog lover. We have 160 miles of off-leash beaches, lots of dog-friendly hotels and restaurants with big patios, many rescue leagues, dog art galleries and of course, the Charleston Dog Show." With all that in Charleston, what dog even needs The Hamptons?

Dear to Carol's heart is involvement in various dogmunity service programs, including involvement with twelve full-time therapy dogs that assist in the local Medically Fragile Children's Program. The therapy dogs go to work, little nurses hats atop their heads. Currently, Harry Barker has in production a Therapy Dog-themed line with Therapy Dog treats and an accompanying squeaky plush toy in the shape of a vintage nurse's bag. More broadly, Carol is concerned about rescuing dogs from shelters. Not that she doesn't have a sense of humor about it, saying: "I urge people to do what they can, to whip out their American Express cards and to adopt."

Carol envisions rolling out Harry Barker retail centers in a near future, with salon and spa services along with pet portrait art galleries in which to hold fundraisers. Then there's her colorful fantasy of having a circus act with Shelties shaved to look like big cats, lions in performance. Before you laugh that one off, remember; Carol Perkins starred on Broadway as a fire-eater. "That experience taught me to take risks," she affirms. "It taught me that fear-based thinking doesn't add any value, it just holds you back. Besides, the show was beautiful to watch." And I dare say, beautiful as a decorative Harry Barker dog bed in toile.