Pooches woof it up at ‘Strut Your Mutt’ contest
CHESTER » Monkey, 10, a poodlemix or a “schnoodle” as her mom, Brooke Wells, of Philadelphia, calls her, was flaunting a rainbow skirt and unicorn horn for the “Strut Your Mutt” dog costume contest at Widener University on Friday.
Wells, an associate professor of human sexuality at Widener, said she found the pup through a rescue organization while living in Brooklyn, N.Y. Three years ago she needed to find Monkey a release for some pent-up anxiety and started taking her to obedience and agility classes.
She learned you can old dog new tricks.
“She’s an anxious little mess, which is why we do agility and why she is so good at dancing in a unicorn costume,” Wells said, dangling a piece of jerky while Monkey did a pirouette with grace and poise.
Taking Monkey to Zoom Room in Philadelphia, Wells said expending that extra energy has allowed teach an the dog to find calm while mom’s at work, and also has found a niche in dog competitions.
Monkey won first place last year at Widener and took second place Friday.
“It’s something to keep her busy and wear here down a little bit ... she loves it, she gets so excited when we pull into the parking lot,” Wells said.
Nearby, another competitor, who was more in it for the new friends than a trophy, was Chester, 3, a golden retriever owned by Valerie Jackson-McLaughlin, who said the pooch was indeed named after the city in which she was born.
She said Chester was mostly concerned with all the distractions around and playing with the other dogs, but managed to focus up and complete the obstacle course.
When asked about his silvered angel wings, she hinted that Chester was no angel.
“Because he’s such a good boy,” Jackson-McLaughlin said before bursting into laughter. “He gets himself in a lot of trouble.”
The dog costume contest was organized by a group of students in Associate Professor Angie Corbo’s event planning and public relations course. The yearly event is an opportunity for the students to learn how to plan an awareness campaign and community outing that is both fun and raises money for a worthy cause.
Participants paid a $5 entry feeww that goes directly to Providence Animal Center in Upper Providence.
In 2016, Providence helped families adopt a record 3,765 cats and dogs.