I found this old clock in an antique store a few years ago and could not resist buying it. It was in a closet for a long time and when we moved to the new farm I liberated my “Friskies” clock and hung it on the dining room wall. It also serves as a nightlite, and a reminder of how the marketing of animals has evolved.

Dog food was not even invented until the early 1960’s – for most of American history, people would have thought it ludicrous to go to a store and buy food for dog when there were perfectly good and healthy table scraps to share. That would be considered abuse today. Before television and the Internet – marketing was called advertising then – they best way to reach consumers was through gifts with brands on them – clocks, key chains, calendars, notepads, cups, matchbook covers. Corporations were always giving things away and what more creative way to get people to remember brand names and focus on the new idea of specially formulated “dog food” (then and now, often less healthy than table scraps – just think of bottled water). The “Frisky” clock was a big hit. And its still ticking.

Since my “Friskies” clock was made, the marketing of dog foods and other products has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Special foods, beds, medicines, balls, harnesses, leashes and snacks. My clock reminds me to think about the difference between what dogs need and what we need them to need. Compared to today’s electronic corporate bombardments, my “Friskies” seems innocent and refreshment. And I do want to keep my dogs frisky.