This afternoon Bill and I watched the costume judging for the 13th Annual Easter Pet Parade at the South Congress location of Jo’s Coffee. About 40 dogs entered the contest. The registration fee benefited Austin Pets Alive!, a nonprofit organization with a goal to eliminate the killing of companion animals. 

The theme was “Pets in Drag” in honor of local cross-dressing celebrity Leslie Cochran, who died a month ago. Austinites certainly miss seeing Leslie around town in a negligee or bikini. Some contestants tried to capture Leslie’s signature style. 

Each dog was introduced with a little bio. One contestant’s hobbies were “sniffing butts and sleeping.” Another liked to “flirt with poodles.” “Walking on South Congress” was a popular activity.

But I noticed that the dogs all had two things in common:

very creative owners…

(Seriously. Napoleon Dynamite with a “Vote for Pedro” shirt and glasses?)

 

…and extreme patience.

After everyone had a chance to “strut their stuff”, all species took a water break while the judges conferred and made their final decisions.

Then the top five contestants were called back on stage and the winners were announced.

Third prize went to Cleopatra. When asked about this impressive costume, the owner said “it came with the dog.”

The Exterminator won second prize.

The first-place winner was this little pink-and-leopard-skin dog with matching owner… definitely Leslie-inspired costumes!