TONY: Imagine if the easiest way to delight your wife is you just throw a ball across the room.
Relationships wouldn’t fail anymore if that’s all you had to do.
TONY: People come to my house and they see my ribbons and they say, ‘Oh, you have won all these ribbons
at dog shows.’ But they rarely ask if I am the dog.
TONY: I have won quite a few. This is the high point award for Puppy Palooza and then these two are the
best ones I have because these are my two best in shows. I got these at Domcon.
TONY: My name is Tony and I’m a human pup. ANDREW: I’m Andrew. I am Tony’s husband and trainer.
TONY: Pet play is anytime that a person takes on the role of an animal and they emulate that animal either through
their behavior or their actions. Some people wear costumes. This is the first hood that I ever got.
I’ve been involved in pet play for my entire life. A lot of kids like to play pretend, they like to pretend to be
an animal and they enjoy doing it. I just never grew out of that.
ANDREW: I got in pet play through Tony. Once we started dating, handler is a common role for human pups
and I was glad to do it.
TONY: They say when the student is ready, the master appears.
TONY: The first time I met you I was dressed as a dog, for Halloween.
ANDREW: You were, are you comfortable being fully out? TONY: I don’t care.
ANDREW: He was, he is female at the time. I remember that he showed up with a little like, dog nose painted on,
yeah it didn’t seem weird at the time. TONY: I just happen to have all the gear.
TONY: There is different aspects of pet play that relate to BDSM or kink or leather. It involves gear that is
restrictive or restraining. For example, leashes, harnesses, mitts on your hands. This is called a show
tail. What I have done is I've put a dildo harness and then I just wear the dildo harness backwards and that gives
the tail better balance. And as you can see that’s a rubber and silicon tail, so it wags. And then the most
important part of all of this gear is actually this guy, the ball, that’s the most important part. That’s it!
ANDREW: My responsibility is similar to the responsibility with a regular dog.
TONY: Wild dog. I am a regular dog. I am just different.
Andrew: Okay. We have bio dogs and I do train them because no barking, but you know, if you want to make a
big stink that’s… you are an adult human. You can do what you want. Although you will be talking to police if
that is necessary. "Officer I can’t be held responsible, you are going to need to talk to my trainer."
TONY: I think for a lot of pet play couples that the pets get perhaps a little bit more out of it.
ANDREW: So I hang out and I provide him with of lots of attention and tell him he is a good boy.
TONY: I am. ANDREW: That’s basically 90% of it.
TONY: I am a good boy.
ANDREW: The other 10% is agreeing to make programs and graphic design for a club.
ANN: Hey, nice to see you. Come on in.
ANN: The purpose of the LA Pony and Critter Club is to provide a safe space for people to explore and
experience animal role play.
ANN: And we have just the best time. Every time I do it, it’s like the best time of my life, it’s the best moment of
my life, oh this is the best moment of my life.
TONY: We engage in pet play actively a few times a month, and it’s often in a social setting such as a club or
an event. We have been in the LA Pony and Critter Club for six, going on, seven years.
ANN: You are so cute. TONY: I know.
ANN: The event today that was held by the LA Pony and Critter Club is a play date. They are informal, they can be
everything from three people to 25 people.
ANN: A horse trainer since 2009. Before that, I was a pony.
ANN: I like the performance arts. I like the detail. I like creating ballet with my animals.
ANN: With horses I do silent commands, and with puppies I do German.
TONY: For me the quintessential pet play gear is tail and hood. Everything else is extra. So let's do tail first.
ANN: I have a question. TONY: Yes?
ANN: What sends you into puppy space like, when you put on these two things or one thing?
TONY: For me it's being on all fours. The gear is, I don’t need the gear. The gear is for you to see me as a dog.
ANN: Okay. TONY: I don’t need the gear.
ANN: Actually getting down on all fours, that’s it, you are gone.
TONY: Yeah.
TONY: For me the reason that I like to be a dog is, dog is man’s best friend. Dogs experience the world through a
lens of pure joy that I don’t think other animals have. Maybe dolphins but I feel like
that pet play would be much harder.
TONY: Hey, no, don’t get me by my tail. I’ll bite you.
TONY: LA Pony and Critter club is kind of pet play vanilla style. There’s no sex involved. I don’t think pet play is
sexual. I do think that to an extent this is erotic, because it is intimate.
ANDREW: The topic of sexuality and pet play can be pretty controversial. We don’t make it sexual,
but I have nothing against those who do.
INTERVIEWER: That’s great. ANDREW: But more power to those who do.
TONY: Pet play is first of all great exercise. It’s a lot of fun. Crossfit has nothing on pet play.
TONY: I enjoy running around, I enjoy tug-of-war, I enjoy fetch - very typical dog activities. Within the larger club,
we do fox hunts. We have dog shows. We have herding events. Anything a dog can do, a human can do.
TONY: I consider myself out and very open. That being said, I do compartmentalise
my pet play because not everyone wants or needs to see that. My family, for example, I think they have a general
idea that I am into some kinky stuff, but we don’t talk about it.
ANDREW: I think people misunderstand pet play because they see a collection of ideas that aren’t
normally next to each other. Namely animals, sex, adults pretending and they immediately get alarm sense
that something is wrong. I think everybody should feel comfortable exploring the limits of their creativity and
imagination and most of us have grown up in a culture that strongly discourages you from taking it too far.
I appreciate that I am married to someone who encourages me to explore my imagination and my
interest wherever they lead and I try to do the same.
TONY: I think everyone should try it once, and if they like it, they should try it a second time.