November 2, 2018
Announcing the Winners of the 2018 DogWatch Halloween Photo Contest!
DogWatch asked for the best Halloween photos of your dog in costume, and you delivered! We received over 300 entries, featuring some of the spookiest, sweetest, funniest and most creative dog costumes we’ve ever seen! The DogWatch team had a VERY hard time choosing a winner – there were so many amazing entries! After lots of discussion (and laughs), we are thrilled to announce the winners of the 2018 DogWatch Halloween Photo Contest!
THIRD PLACE: Addie as Bob Ross, TV Painter
Remember Bob Ross from PBS’ “The Joy of Painting”? Addie’s parents definitely do! The 3 year-old Golden Retriever perfectly embodies the TV legend with her wide smile, a big curly ‘do and peaceful landscape at her side. Let’s paint some happy trees, everybody!
Addie is one half of the popular Instagram duo @thegoldensrule, along with her 4 year-old brother Jake. Jake is blind, but it doesn’t stop him from living life to the fullest. These two lovable pups from Iowa bring joy to the lives of their over 100,000 followers everyday. Great job, Addie – we know Jake is cheering you on!
SECOND PLACE: Oscar as a Funeral Carriage
The undertaker is calling, and he’s got short legs, floppy ears and a saucy little pink tongue! Oscar is our second place winner this year thanks to his costume that uses his wheelchair to great affect to create a macabre scene perfect for Halloween. We love the creativity, the details of the carriage, Oscar’s adorable expression and the simple but very effective background design.
Oscar is a familiar face in this contest – he tied for third place in 2016 for fantastic “Paddy Wagon” costume. The 8 year-old mini Dachshund from New York has used a dog wheelchair since age 4, when he had an Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) episode and became paralyzed. But according to mom Krysten, Oscar has no idea anything is wrong with him. “Squeaker toys are his favorite,” she says. “He loves ‘de-squeaking’ them.” Oscar would fit right in with our office dogs – they’ve never met a toy they didn’t want to destroy!
FIRST PLACE: Frost as Head on an Evil Clown’s Platter
Oscar’s funeral carriage may be spooky, but the first place winner of this year’s DogWatch Halloween Photo Contest is downright terrifying! Frost, a very tolerant 10 year-old Australian Cattle Dog from Montana, is the main entree in an evil clown’s horrible buffet. (Don’t worry, no pups were harmed in the making of this costume!) The DogWatch team loved the darkly creative concept and its flawless execution (no pun intended). The falling leaves in the background were also a nice seasonal touch. But really, that clown is giving us nightmares, and that’s what Halloween scares are all about, right?
Frost’s mom Ingrid says she had Frost since she was 8 weeks old, and that she was “cutest stinking puppy ever.” Ingrid currently has three other ACDs: Kipling who is 7 and is Frost’s son, Moody who is 3 and is Frost’s grandson, and Rumpus who is 5 years old and is Moody’s Aunt. That’s a full house!
Frost’s winning costume was inspired by the movie “It” and it’s signature creepy clown. We ask Ingrid how she made the costume, and she gave us lots of details. (D-I-Y crafters, take note!) Ingrid explains: “While the latex mask and clown outfit are store bought, this costume that my dog Frost is wearing was modified significantly by me. I originally bought a small child’s evil clown costume and hemmed the legs and arms to make them shorter. Next, I glued the latex mask to a mannequin head that had glowing LED eyes. I used heavy wire and attached skeletal hands to the wire and attached it to the head. The head is supported upright with two dowels. One straight down from the head and one angled off the first dowel which were then connected to a foam block and Gorilla Glued in place. That was then attached to Frost’s back with four velcro straps. I then split the seam on the front of the clown costume for her head to fit through. Velcro was attached to the front and rear to close the costume up after her head and legs were in the costume. Once Frost was in the costume, poly fill stuffing was added to give body to the “clown”. Lastly, I took a cardboard cake platter, cut a hole through it and put it over Frost’s neck and placed the platter in the skeletal hands. Needless to say, Frost got steak for dinner.” Well earned, buddy!
Here’s a video of the costume, complete with creepy sound effects.
Congrats Frost, Oscar and Addie and to all of our amazing entries!
HONORABLE MENTIONS
In addition to our top three, we also wanted to give a shout out to some of other favorites this year! Here are our 2018 Honorable Mentions:
Best Pose
Jack the roaring Golden Lion! (Photo by @jack_thebigreddog via Instagram)
Best Group Photo
Daenerys Targaryen (@hoyathejindo) and her trusty dragons (@2husketeers)!
Best Hero
Boogie as D’Artagnan of the Three Musketeers (Photo by @its_boogieboogz_ via Instagram)
Best Villain
Daisy the Boston Terrier as the Joker (Photo by Ann Marie Avenda)
Most Out of This World
Beatrix the Frenchie as Laika, the first dog in space! (Photo by @tenacious__b via Instagram)
Best Dog-Person Combo
Hugo waiting patiently to try his dad’s sushi! (Photo by @hugo_thefakechihuahua via Instagram)
Good Puppy Award
Yeti the 6 month-old Yellow Lab is a very good puppy for staying still long enough to strike this pose! (Photo by @yetithewhitelab via Instagram)
Top Cat
Boo the Deaf Kitty, a Turkish/Angora mix (and DogWatch customer!), is ready for a Halloween party!
Best Other Pets Photo
It’s not just dogs and cats! Meet Liberace and Turtledove the pet pigs! (Photo by @liberace_minipig_divadude via Instagram)
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!
Featured Photo Credits
Top Row, L to R: Dana Kramer, Samantha Lovett, Ingrid Rosenquist, @its_boogiebooz
Bottom Row, L to R: @tenacious__b, @thegoldensrule, Krysten Kerrick, @jack_thebigreddog
