Terrier is tops as dogs take to catwalk for Halloween

A WELSH terrier took first prize in a Halloween fancy dress dog parade in Henley.

Ruby, three, was dressed as Sully from the 2001 Disney Pixar film Monsters Inc, matching the outfit worn by the baby daughter of her owners Vivian and David Kos.

Both wore onesies which were bright blue with purple spots and Ruby also wore bright green “ears”.

Eight dogs took part in the eighth annual event on Saturday night, which was organised by the Naughty Mutt Nice dog grooming parlour in Duke Street.

Despite the rain, owners and dogs walked from the shop to Market Place, where there was a gazebo, and paraded along a red carpet for judging by shop owner Karole Robertson. The runner-up was Izzy the Havanese, owned by Helen Burridge, dressed as a spider.

Third place went to dachshunds Olive and Pippa, owned by Robert Davies, who were dressed as witches.

The top three dogs won prizes including a full groom, wash and blow-dry as well as hampers.

Mrs Robertson said: “This is a fun thing to do and an excuse to see the dogs in a different light to how we normally see them. We got a red carpet for the dogs to walk down which was made from paper, so it did get a bit wet but the dogs enjoyed it. Maybe next year we will invest in a waterproof catwalk.

“The most fun thing was the kids dressed up to match their dogs. Halloween is our favourite time to have an event and we like to see the dogs having fun.”

She was helped to judge the dogs by past and present members of staff and members of the public watching.

Mrs Robertson said: “We thought that the audience should be more involved and we wanted an interactive aspect this year. We asked everyone to clap as the dogs walked down the runway and the one that received the loudest clap won. We were judging not only their outfits but also their personality and how they were interacting, their charm and quirks.”

She thanked her supporters who supplied goodies for the hampers, including Dogkind, Lily’s Kitchen and McAdams.