Willow Glen Resident
Community
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Got the Spirit: Pepi, a Chihuahua, will be ready for Halloween. He models a bee costume at Gussied Up but he will be dressed for the parade in a handmade mariachi outfit with a matching sequined hat.
Latest trend is dressing up Fifi and Fido for Halloween
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
A shorter, furrier version of the traditional Halloween goblins, superheroes and princesses will be spotted walking down Lincoln Avenue and through Willow Glen streets as residents prep their pets for the holiday festivities.
Kyle Dodd, an employee at Gussied Up, says this is the third year the boutique has carried dog costumes.
The costumes have been available since mid-September, and already there are clear favorites.
"Lots of people are buying the ladybugs and the Minnie and Mickey Mouse costumes," Dodd says. "They are our hot sellers."
Pet Halloween has gained popularity, without a doubt, Dodd says.
"Ten years ago, you wouldn't have seen people dressing their animals up," he says. "Now, even chain stores have started carrying costumes for people's furry friends."
Dressing a pet up for Halloween just makes the dog part of the Halloween family festivities, Dodd says.
"The dogs have a lot of fun dressing up, too," Dodd says. "They get the added attention that their costumes bring."
One Gussied Up customer just came back from a trip to France and was inspired.
"The style there is anything pirate," says Willow Glen resident Sylvie Nalezny. "People are wearing ruffles and big boots just like Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean."
She was so excited by the swashbuckling couture she decided to dress as a pirate, along with her pup Ceasar.
"I never thought I'd be one of those people that dressed up like their pets," Nalezny says. "The dogs probably couldn't care less, but they are our kids and I want to start a tradition."
Four-year-old Terri, a spunky Yorkie, is a veteran trick-or-treater.
Willow Glen resident and Terri's owner, Kiwi Mellin, says her little dog will be three things this year--a ladybug, Toto and a firefighter.
"She looks so cute, and she lets me do it," Mellin says.
Last year, the miniature dog was a devil, and the year before a pink princess.
Mellin also takes her Yorkie to pet parades and says every year there are more and more people.
One-year-old English bulldog Fred and his pal Pepi, a black Chihuahua, will also be attending the pet parade in Willow Glen on Oct. 28.
Fred will wear either a traditional bowler hat with a cigar or will be Superman. Pepi has a handmade mariachi outfit with a matching sequined hat.
"Halloween is such a tradition here at Park Place," says Willow Glen resident Deanna Smith. "I dress up both my kids. If I didn't dress Fred, my mother-in-law Linda Ruiz would be very disappointed."
The third annual Halloween Doggie Social and Costume Parade takes place on Oct. 28 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Gussied Up, 1310 Lincoln Ave.
