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Meet the winners of the Bendigo Advertiser’s photo competition for quirky locals who love to see their beloved pets dressed up to the nines.
Emily McNamara sent in this double delight of her pups – Savannah dressed as a chicken and Lucy as Eeyore.
She has won two movie tickets for her efforts.
Pet Barn assistant manager Jason Moroney said the bizarre trend had “really taken off in the past year”.
He said the store stocked a vast array of costumes, especially coming into Halloween, from devil’s ears to pumpkin outfits, but mostly they were “impulsive buys”.
Mr Moroney said going all out for a beloved pet’s birthday was becoming more normalised.
“They don’t feel it’s silly to put costumes or make a big fuss over it. For birthdays people make cupcakes for dogs and put on tutus,” he said.
“It’s not a stigma. We call them pet parents – their dog is part of the family. We absolutely encourage it, we want people to embrace it and have fun.”
Mr Moroney said social media was fueling the trend of locals dressing up pets.