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PILLAGER — It’s been said that pets resemble their owners but Beth Wetzke, whoTOOK her pet goat Penelope to the annual Best Dressed Pet contest at the Cass County Fair here, laughed at the thought.
“Oh, no, I don’t think so. My grandma made that outfit. I have a little more fashion sense than that,” she said jokingly of the goat’s attire of red and blue shirt with neon floral patterned skirt.
The Cass County Fair in Pillager has held this fashion event for several years, giving pet owners a chance to show off their furry friends along with their creativity and craftiness. Costumes are generally homemade and the animals are lovingly coaxed into wearing them.
Reactions among the animal set run the gamut from placid acceptance to persistent efforts to shed their new duds and get back to nature.
“One time when I was dressing him up he ran into the woods so I had to chase him to get the clothes back,” Krista Jenkins said of one of her cats. The cats were dressed for a wedding: Toby as the top-hatted groom and Licorice (who apparently drew the short straw since both cats were male) as the veil-wearing blushing bride.
And on the other side of the coin was a pug named Miley that appeared pleased with her hula girl outfit and was the defending champion. Miley, owner Charlee Johnson and the rest of her family are from Rogers vacationing in the Pillager area, and the contest is an important event on the trip. “Charlee’s been talking about it since last year,” said her mother, Katrina Johnson.
“I thought about making her an astronaut but I didn’t want to try and fit a helmet on her head,” said Charlee.
