Dogs, owners show Halloween spirit at bar contest

At a costume contest Sunday, humans and animals alike were able to show their excitement for Halloween.

Chapel Hill bar Beer Study held a Halloween costume contest for dogs.

Britton Van Vleek, a bartender at Beer Study, said this was the first time the bar has held the event.

Prizes included gift certificates to local businesses.

“A lot of regulars bring in their dogs,” he said. “We just saw some funny YouTube videos then decided to have this contest.”

The dogs, which were dressed as figures ranging from Sir William Wallace to Lloyd Christmas from “Dumb and Dumber,” greeted each other before the competition.

Gretchen Gaskill entered her 4-and-a-half-year-old Pembroke Welsh corgi into the contest and dressed both herself and her dog as famous military figures.

“We went through a list of ‘Deadliest Warrior’ episodes and found a bunch of characters that we liked,” she said. “I’m Napoleon Bonaparte, and Keegan is William Wallace.”

Participant Alex Travis brought her dog Rosie, a German shepherd and English pointer mix, to the contest dressed as Lloyd Christmas, who is played by Jim Carrey in the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”

“One of our favorite movies is ‘Dumb and Dumber,’ and the new movie is coming out soon,” she said. “So we thought it would be funny and relevant to do one of our favorite movies like this.”

Some people brought their dogs to the bar just for fun. Kristen Mirek did not dress up her dog Loki.

“We saw the contest advertised in the paper yesterday, and so we figured it out as a good chance to introduce him to other dogs,” she said. “I think it’s cool. He wanted to participate. I haven’t had a chance to get him a costume.”

The dogs and their owners gathered inside Beer Study beforehand, but the judging of the costumes began outside the bar at about 5:30 p.m.

The scene drew passers-by.

“I was just walking by and saw so many dogs, so I stayed. I really like dogs,” bystander Leah Heidelmeier said. “It was really cute. I got lucky because I got here before they started.”

Ellie McKinney was one of the contest’s judges.

She said the judges were looking for innovative dog costumes, and they valued the time the owners took to think what fit their dogs’ personalities.

“And it really has to do with the overall cuteness,” she said.

“There are so many different types of dogs, but what it comes down to is the dog having the most fun with their owners.”

The owners and their dogs paraded from Beer Study to Steel String Brewery after the contest.

Lea Woodard and her dog Elsie, a pug dressed as a hop cone, the plant used in making beer, won first place in the competition.

city@dailytarheel.com