Frank-a-saurus

Frankie had lots of fun today.  We took him to the Shelby Humane Society's First Annual Pet Costume Contest at the Galleria Mall.   We were not able to get clear guidelines to know if a big sulcata could go so we just took the chance. 

His costume?  Frank-a-saurus!

The biggest challenge?  Getting Frankie through the mall to the area where the costume contest was.  We put him on his new cart.  The cart really worked great.  We strapped him down and pushed him on cart through the mall.  We kept a very brisk step as people wanted us to stop to see him. 

We LOVE his new cart.  Folds up to a nice flat square.  He can't touch the ground with his feet (not yet) so we had control over the cart.

Link to see new folding cart

The pet costume contest had three categories:  best costume, best pair, and congeniality.  We entered Frankie in the best costume contest.

So, what pets did Frankie go up against?  All dogs from a tiny Chihuahua to a Great Dane.  Two dogs were dressed in turtle costumes.  There was a mermaid, a fish, a bee, diva, chicken, hot dog, just lots of costumes.  Some costumes were very detailed and elaborate, some simple.  I think Frankie had the only costume that was held together with hot glue.

What would we do without a hot glue gun?  His costume is two years old and he is larger.  I had to let the seams out and add material so it would fit him.  The hot glue gun helped since my sewing skills are rather bare.  But the costume held up.  It will be the last year he uses the costume.  Next year there WILL be a new costume.

Back to the costume contest.  No matter how ingenious his costume or unusual he is as a pet, judges can hardly overlook a cute lap dog with those big black eyes.  So the dogs won out in the Best Costume Contest.  Frankie isn't necessarily UN-friendly but he is in his own world.  He doesn't bother with dogs, or people, or baby strollers, or a man in a wheel chair....get the picture.  So he didn't get most congenial pet.  Nor were we a matched pair.

So after all the prizes were awarded they announced they had one more special award.  Frankie was given a prize for the most unusual pet.   Frankie got a big round of applause from an audience of about 100 people.  Afterwards there was lots of photographs.

Frankie remains the most photographed tortoise in the state of Alabama.