Jury the standard poodle certainly knows how to make a statement.
The four-year-old canine showed up at Saturday‘s Doggie Easter Cookie Hunt in Kelowna with his regularly white, curly fur dyed shocking pink.
“I did it with food colouring, so it‘s totally safe for him,” owner Kathy Eaton said.
“He likes it. He feels special. This pink is such a nice spring Easter colour.”
The notices that went out before the Doggie Easter Cookie Hunt encouraged owners to dress up their dogs in outfits for the 40-minute walk on the Mission Creek Greenway to search for dog biscuits.
Of the 75 dogs that participated, probably a quarter were costumed in everything from bunny ears and bows to Easter garlands and balloons.
But it was Jury dyed pink with his oversized white feather collar featuring Easter eggs that won the best costume prize and the gift basket of bowls, collars and treats that went along with the honour.
“Do you think he‘s at the wrong parade?” asked Eaton, in reference to Jury‘s outfit being able to fit in at a gay pride march.
Jury isn‘t just a pretty pooch. He also works as a therapy dog at the Southern Interior Cancer Centre.
The Easter event raised about $500 for the Kelowna branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
“This is a really good turnout and money total for an inaugural event,” said organizer Sarah Bartley of Mutt Buddies, a company that does dog training, pet sitting and group walks.
“These kinds of get togethers are good for both people and their dogs for socializing.”
Little Miss Fancy Pants, a papillon, can take credit for having the cutest name.
“This little breed is also called the butterfly dog because of the way their fur fans out around their ears,” said owner Nikki Harvey.
“I‘ve just added some ribbons, bows and flowers to her regular pink camouflage, but she‘s rolled a couple of times so it all looks a bit crushed right now.”
Teanna Henke, 8, and her dad, Russell, brought their multi-generational toy poodles to the walk.
“Lady in the red (jacket and Easter ribbon) is the mom and Precious in the pink (jacket and Easter trimmings) is the daughter,” explained Henke, who‘s a Grade 3 student at Spring Valley Elementary.
Trusty, an 11-year-old black Labrador retriever, had yellow felt chicks stuck to his collar and a big helium balloon attached to his leash declaring him “Easter pooch.”
