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Shepherd pets rule the catwalk
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Sue Garcia (left) hand-made her Greek goddess outfit for herself and her dog, Zeus. Garcia's outfits referenced the Greek god that is her dog's namesake.
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .With activity director Paula Blakeman hosting the festivities, she needed helpers to walk her dog Shiloh down the catwalk. Maddie (left) and Mya Anzevino, daughters of Shepherd employee Amy Anzevino, happily helped Shiloh model his "hula boy" outfit.
By SARAH FOOR
On June 28, Poland Shepherd of the Valley hosted a fashion show that had everything you may expect – plenty of testy talent and backstage drama that worked itself out as the models made their way down the catwalk.
Granted, the talent was allowed to be testy, being that they were the dogs and other pets of Shepherd staff and friends.
Poland activity director Paula Blakeman planned the Pet Fashion Show after noticing the joy that pets brought to her residents.
“We’re a very dog and pet-friendly workplace, and many members of our staff love to bring in their pets to meet the residents. Our residents absolutely love it, so we decided to make an event to honor that kind of joy,” Blakeman shared.
The fashion show featured the talents of Zeus, the dog of employee Sue Garcia; Bailey, Terry Eiseneraun’s 15-year-old golden retriever; Lucy Bertner’s pug, Sheeba; Blainey, Vicky Hoffman’s turtle; and Blakeman’s dog, Shiloh, who was walked by Maddie and Mya Anzevino during the show.
Fashion highlights included the racing stripes painted on Blainey’s turtle shell and Sheeba’s three outfit changes, which included a hula girl costume complete with a grass skirt.
Each of the models received a treat bag and toys for their participation, and plenty of friendly pets from residents after the show ended.
The facility offered residents milk and dog bone-shaped cookies as post-fashion refreshments.
“I’d definitely like to see our fashion show grow,” Blakeman mentioned at the event.
“We’re hoping to add some musical accompaniment next time, and make the show into a semi-annual event. We’ll show fall and spring collections,” Blakeman said with a laugh.