November 6, 2015
The Votes are In! Here are the Winners of the 2015 Halloween Photo Contest!
DogWatch asked for the best Halloween photos of your dog in costume, and the results were spooky, silly, creative and above all, adorable! The DogWatch team had a blast going through all of the amazing entries and voting for our favorites. Needless to say, it was difficult to pick just one . . . or two . . . or three! But after we all cast our votes on Wednesday, we are thrilled to announced the winners of the 2015 DogWatch Halloween Photo Contest!
Third Place: TIE – Buster as “The Baconfather”
Our third place race was so close, we’re calling it a well-deserved tie! Buster the Pug impressed DogWatch judges with his imposing and hilarious “The Baconfather” photo. Not only is the costume on point, Buster’s intimidating mug is as perfect an impression of Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone as we’ve ever seen. He made us an offer we couldn’t refuse, and we had to reward him!
Buster lives in Florida, and loves dressing up for Halloween. In addition to this Godfather homage, Buster (with the help of dad Roger) has portrayed Snoopy, Frankenstein, Donald Trump, pop band LMFAO, Luke Skywalker and more. You can see them all in his dad’s Instagram feed @mickeyv625. Only 360 days ’til next Halloween, Buster, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year!
Third Place: TIE – Rina as “Shoe Fly Pie”
Who could turn down a slice of shoe fly pie, especially when it’s served by the world’s most adorable insect? The dog behind these giant fly eyes is Rina, a 12.5 year old golden/lab mix. Rina’s mom Judy tells us that Rina “loves shoes, getting packages from delivery drivers and stealing the remote control. She has a great sense of humor!” She definitely made us laugh with her witty costume. And she gets bonus points for her poise, which allowed her mom to capture this amazing shot!
Rina is trained as a service dog and is the “sister” of Surf Dog Ricochet, a world-famous dog surfing champion who is also a “SURFice dog®”! Ricochet interacts and surfs with kids with special needs, people with disabilities, wounded warriors & veterans with PTSD as an assistive aid and paws-on healer. What an amazing family they make! To learn more about Ricochet and Rina, check out their website and follow Ricochet on Facebook!
And since we were so inspired by Ricochet’s mission to help others, and to honor Rina’s win, DogWatch, Inc. will be making a donation to Ricochet’s Causes Fund, which supports “rescue groups, animal shelters, humane societies, other animal causes such as K9 cancer, and human causes, including autism, adaptive surfing, people with disabilities, veterans with PTSD, dogs/soldiers in Afghanistan, children with cancer, and more.” To make your own donation, or to learn more about Ricochet and Rina, visit www.surfdogricochet.com.
Second Place: Cassi as “Flower the Skunk”
Our blog is usually a place where people discuss how much of a pain skunks are to dog owners, so it’s only fitting that on Halloween we turn the tables and celebrate these pesky mammals. It’s hard not to when the costume is as cute as this one! Cassi the Boston Terrier mix from Tennessee is our second place winner, modeling her skunk costume with just the right amount of sass and spirit. It helps that Cassi’s small size and fur color – the classic Boston Terrier black and white – is a perfect fit for the signature skunk stripe.
Cassi’s mom Mallory as Bambi
Cassi’s not just any old skunk, by the way. She’s portraying Flower the Skunk, a sidekick from the classic Disney film Bambi. Cassi’s mom Mallory dressed as Bambi for Halloween, and she made her dog’s costume by hand so they could be the perfect duo.
When she’s not decked out in couture creations for Halloween, Cassi enjoys running around and playing with her three dog sisters: Karma, a 9 year old Rat Terrier; Cleo, an 8 year old Boston Terrier mix; and Autumn, a 4 year old Chihuahua. Cassi, who is a little over a year old, is the newest member of the family. “She’s been a joy!” says Mallory, a professional dog groomer who adopted Cassi in July when a coworker’s friend could no longer keep her. Cassi’s favorite toys are Nylabones, but she loves to shake and toss around floppy toys, too.
A new home, a new mom, new sisters and a Halloween contest win? Sounds like 2015 is a great year for this sweet pup! Congrats Cassi and Mallory!
First Place: Barney as “The Billionaire”
It was very hard for us to chose a winner, but Barney’s photo shined thanks to his well-fitted costume, eye-catching background, perfectly deadpan expression, and, of course, the hair. We saw a lot of costumes this year inspired by this particularly newsworthy billionaire, but none were as creative, well-designed and flat-out funny as this one. We think even the Donald himself would agree that Barney is a winner.
We spoke to Barney’s mom Shannon, who says the costume was inspired by a comment of a friend who said her dog looked like Donald Trump. So she ran with it, purchasing an extra-small women’s jacket, toddler button-down white shirt and a man’s red tie at a thrift shop and adjusting them to fit Barney. The extra hair on top comes from a blond wig that she cut and attached to an elastic band that Barney wore around his head like a birthday hat. For more details about how Shannon created the look, check out her tutorial on Instructables.
When he’s not impersonating a real estate tycoon turned presidential candidate, Barney lives on a little farm in Oregon with his family, which includes four dog siblings. He’s a mixed breed, or as his mom calls him, a “purebred Heinz 57.” Barney loves liver treats and playing with soft animal toys. For his prize, we’ll be sending his mom a BigLeash Remote Trainer, which will help control some of the “horse chasing that goes on” on the farm, while still allowing Barney to enjoy the freedom of his life on the farm. Have fun Barney, and congrats on the big win!
Honorable Mention: Lola the Bumblebee
Oak Common, a Northern California lifestyle boutique, shared this video of Lola, one of the store’s two Chihuahua mascots, dancing up a storm in her bumblebee costume. It’s not a photo and therefore not eligible to win, but Lola is clearly a star, so we just had to share. Keep on dancing, little one!
We’d like to say a very big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in this year’s DogWatch Halloween Photo Contest! And if you don’t already, follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@dogwatchfence) to see the rest of the Halloween photo contest entries!
