Since 8-year-old Shih Tzu Mushu was born, Sarasota's Teagan Nickols has dressed him up in various costumes.
The tradition expanded when Mushu's son Emmett, who is now 5, was born.
Last year, Mushu, Teagan and Emmett dressed as Woody, Buzz and Jessie from "Toy Story" for various events.
On Oct. 14 at Barks and Brews at The Green at UTC, the three unveiled this year's costumes, as they followed the yellow brick road with a "Wizard of Oz" theme.
Mushu was the scarecrow, Emmett was the tin man and Teagan dressed as Dorothy.
After parading around The Green, Nickols described the event as a "cuteness overload" and said she loves seeing everyone's creativity. Thirty participants signed up and strutted down the runway.
"Everyone is just so cute and I'm brought to tears almost every time because I love dogs so much," Nickols said.
Sarasota's Britteny Boyd goes to Barks and Brews on a regular basis and said she didn't want to miss the dog costume contest. Two years ago she competed with her Dalmatian, Dottie, as Cruella de Vil.
This year, Boyd dressed as a cowgirl while Dottie was a cow, and her golden retriever Gracie was a chicken.
"I love all the creativity that everyone puts into their costumes and I love that it’s a big fundraiser for (Nate's Honor Animal Rescue)," Boyd said. "We try to support their efforts as much as possible."
Barks and Brews raised about $700 for Nate's Honor.
Shih tzu father and son Mushu and Emmett dressed as the scarecrow and tin man from the "Wizard of Oz" with Sarasota's Teagan Nickols as Dorothy.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Sarasota's Britteny Boyd says her dogs Dottie the dalmation (cow) and Gracie the golden retriever (chicken) are crazy and get very excited to see people.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Nokomis resident Casey Jones and his 4-year-old cavapoo named Hubble used a bike decorated with lights and flames to step up the costume.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Madi Sparks and Ocean Wolf traveled from Zephyrhills to be part of the competition. With three chihuahuas named Bagel, Pepper and Buster, they presented a mobile restaurant "4 Paws Hibaci."
Photo by Madison Bierl
Parrish's Brit Hunter dressed her dog Theodore as a bee while Sarasota's Melissa Ehrhardt dressed as a strawberry alongside her dog Tucker as a banana.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Sarasota's Olivia Gibson and dog Pixie went with a mermaid theme while Jessica Thomason and dog Summer went the chef route.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Sarasota goldendoodles Milton, 3 and Lulu, 4, sport unique looks full of detail, including a bowtie and flowers in the hair.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Parrish's Danielle Molino and Brielle Lubin dressed Tattoo, a 3-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, as a prisoner. They say he's a professional escape artist and gets into everything.
Photo by Madison Bierl
This English bulldog honors "The Lion King" in two ways. Although his name is Pumba like the warthog, he dressed as a lion.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Dressed as different food items and a chef are Angelica Kevra, William Warren, Stefania Warren and Leah Kevra.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lakewood Ranch's Dave Becker dressed his 7-year-old golden retriever Bruce
as a pickle because he's "kind of a big dill."
Photo by Madison Bierl
Dozer, a 4-year-old german shepherd, was dressed by Sarasota's Briana Cyr. Cyr owns and operates Burgundy Square Cafe in Venice, which is known for their lobster rolls.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Ava, a 5-year-old chihuahua, sports a taco costume.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Rye, a 2-year-old poodle dressed as Glinda the Good, walks with Eryn Skage who is dressed as the Wicked Witch of the West.
Photo by Madison Bierl
Lulu, a 4-year-old golden doodle, walks the runway with Sarasota's Danilo Zuniga.
Madison Bierl is the education and community reporter for the East County Observer. She grew up in Iowa and studied at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.
