PEOPLE Pets | Sit. Stay. Play!

It’s often said that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and it seems likely that statement was first uttered with Leo Sewell in mind.

For more than half a century, this Philadelphia-based artist has been creating amazing sculptures entirely out of junk people have simply thrown away. The internationally-recognized junk sculptor/dumpster diver, whose fans include Demi Moore and Sylvester Stallone, is especially adept at crafting animals that look a lot like the real thing...despite the trash.

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This Halloween turn your pup into a pumpkin! No, not à la Cinderella, but by using a free, downloadable dog-shaped stencil from Better Homes and Gardens. Designed for a variety of pooches — 13 breeds including dachshunds, Chihuahuas and German shepherds — the pumpkin-carving stencils are tricky to use, but with a little patience, can produce some seriously stunning results.

After picking your breed of choice online at bhg.com, you can download and print your stencil (and vote for your favorite breed!). To get started, attach the stencil to your pumpkin, and follow the directions — carve along solid lines and just pierce along the dots. From there, you can get as detailed as you like, adding whiskers, shadows or any other effects your creative side desires.

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Your pet can never have too many toys. And now, there's a good excuse to purchase some more: Purina recently unveiled its new line of pet gear, including soft beds, fun toys and easy-to-use dinnerware. We got a sneak peek at the wares, and found some instant favorites.

The super-plush "Pooch Pad" ($24.99) is an oversized, eco-friendly bed filled with recycled polyester material. Machine washable, it comes in fun, bold colors and is adorned with a cute pooch-shaped face that your pup will cozy right up to. For cats, there's the "Cuddler" ($19.99), a circular resting place where your feline can curl up for a snooze.

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Art is hardly the first word that leaps to mind when you think of animals and guns. But 34-year-old artist Walton Creel uses the .22-caliber rifle his father gave him as a Christmas gift when he was 15 to create unique animal portraits — made entirely of gunshot blasts.

"Growing up in the south, there’s a big outdoor sports culture of hunting," Creel, a Birmingham, Alabama native, tells PEOPLE Pets. "I didn't hunt, but I grew up around guns and was familiar with them." Several years ago, Creel began exploring how to incorporate guns into his art creatively.

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Not long before we assembled the Cat Eye Bed, my cat jumped into a paper shopping bag. Nothing unusual there: Rose tends to hop into any enclosure that needs filling, whether baskets or even the upended tops of board game boxes.

It reminded me of that old saw about how kids are just as happy playing with whatever the fancy toy came in as they are with the fancy toy itself. But we reserved judgment.

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Sure, most pets come with their own fur coat, but that doesn't mean they can't appreciate a soft place to rest their heads at night. Popular with celebrity parents for their insanely touchable baby blankets, Little Giraffe is now offering equally squishy beds for pets with its new Giraffe & Friends line, and we couldn't wait to get our paws on one!

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Connecticut-based artist Valerie Leonard believes animals are what bring paintings to life. With their animated features and fluffy fur, they fit perfectly into everything from Old Master paintings to contemporary pop art.

So, about four years ago, Leonard -- who has owned many pets over the years and currently has a golden retriever named Skinner -- began combining photos of her own pets with the works of artists such as Hans Holbein just for fun. "It was natural to me to start making my own animals into the people I thought they might be," Leonard tells PEOPLE Pets. "I thought, 'What if Raphael had painted my dog?' "

What began as a musing turned into a new career for Leonard, a former toy designer-inventor. Now, with her company Pet Portraits by Valerie Leonard, she takes photos of dogs and cats and works tirelessly to meticulously insert them into famous paintings – both old and contemporary.

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