By Kara Carlson and Daniel Perle
A red carpet was rolled out. A photo booth was set up. Barking filled the air, tails wagged and treats were snatched from owners’ hands as some of the best-dressed dogs in the Valley put their best paws forward Saturday at Short Leash Hot Dogs’ first-ever Short Leash Halloweenie Party.
Owners Kat and Brad Moore decided first, second and third-prize winners based on their favorite owner/pet combinations. Winners received a basket of treats from Yummy Chummies, a local dog treat company, which provided Short Leash with treats for the event.
Brad Moore said his inspiration came for the Halloweenie Party because he and his wife wanted to have a fun, casual event that complemented the restaurant’s dog theme.
“It’s light and fun, and we’re so dogcentric and pet-friendly, so we thought, ‘Let’s have people come down and dress up their dogs and have a good time,'” he said.
Participants and their owners filled out a short questionnaire to register and then were sent to the red carpet and photo booth to wag their tails and strike their best poses, with a little help from bribes of treats and squeaky toys.
Some owners, such as Daniel Pauly, who dressed his boxer Toby as the Red Baron, drew inspiration from items they already owned.
“We had the glasses because we were hiking the Sierra Nevada and the sun reflected off his white fur into his eyes, and we had to get him those sunglasses, and he looked like the Red Baron,” he said. “So for Halloween we made him the Red Baron Snoopy.”
Pauly, his daughter Danni and his wife Jennifer kept with the “Peanuts” theme, dressing as Charlie Brown, Sally and Lucy.
Others who happened to be at the restaurant with their dogs but did not previously know about the contest got in on the fun as well. Jaymee Bohannon dressed her dog Frida as a ghost rider using random items from her car, such as a mini sombrero and a mini bandanna.
Among the entries were a white Labrador dressed as Jimmy Buffett, complete with a tequila bottle; several sharks; a T-Rex; a pumpkin queen; a taco; a hot dog; and a non-kosher dachshund dressed as a rabbi.
Contact the reporters at Kara.Carlson@asu.edu and Daniel.Perle@asu.edu.
