RICHMOND – Sweet Adeline sported a jaunty purple gingham frock that fit close to the chest and flared out to a double ruffled skirt around the hips. She sauntered down the makeshift runway, basking in admiring glances and tossing her head, threatening to dislodge the matching bow.
Her purple toenails tapped delicately on the floorboards as she twirled and then posed in front of the judges’ table.
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Sweet Adeline was one of the entrants in Sunday’s Doggie Fashion Show, held at the Old Goat Pub to benefit the Coastal Humane Society in Brunswick.
Adeline’s outfit, featuring a matching leash, was crafted in six hours Saturday by Stephanie Benner of Augusta. Friends had told Benner about the benefit, and she had searched in vain for a costume pattern for her Jack Russell/wire-haired terrier before deciding to create it herself.
“She had a lot of fittings; she did not like that,” Benner said.
Adeline earned scores of “8” across the board in the competition.
But that was before the entrance of River Thayer, clad as a mascot for Geary’s. She wore a red thong and toted three bottles of the ale.
A round of “aahs” could be heard from admirers perched on bar stools and seated at tables around the perimeter of the room.
Daisy, a mix of Lhasa Apso and Pekingese, was shown by Joyelle Webster of Topsham. Daisy wore a reversible fleece hunting vest. Webster’s dad, Ed, said he noticed four of the judges were male and was hoping the orange vest might prove appealing.
Joyelle’s friend Jasmine McWilliams, also of Topsham, brought Silky, a Shih Tzu and Chinese crested powderpuff, who donned a Santa dog costume for her runway appearance.
There were couples as well, including Faith and Spike, Chihuahuas who roamed the runway unleashed.
Faith wore a pastel print dress and pink rhinestone heart-shaped earrings. Spike would barely tolerate his pink satin bow tie.
“He’s not big on dressing up, so we decided to keep it simple,” said Valerie Sprague, formerly of Richmond and now of Randolph.
The entrant who traveled farthest — at least from birth — was Ciara (pronounced KEE-ra), an Irish wolfhound born just outside Dublin. Owners Kathleen and Jeff Brainerd of West Gardiner described her as “a legal immigrant.”
Ciara prepped for her appearance outside, wearing a green T-shirt and a “Kiss me I’m Irish” bag.
Essentially, there were two shows: one inside for Scott McIntire’s customers, and one outside the pub on Main Street, where the dogs greeted each other, pulled their owners to and fro, and managed to lose many of their accoutrements.
A second dog named Daisy kept shedding daisy petals from her thick necklace, and pieces of Greta’s green and blue net tutu floated away, although her ankle bracelets stayed in place.
“You’re stepping on your tutu,” Diane Cormier told Greta, a calm, patient Weimaraner.
Other dogs also wore bling — dozens of bright Mardi Gras necklaces and some clip earrings.
“Every dog gets a bone on the way out,” McIntire told patrons. “It’s a good cause. The shelter does a good job of placing dogs.”
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