As Halloween approaches quickly, many of us are putting the last details on our costumes, hanging last-minute decorations, and filling our candy bowls with goods. For residents living in Tampa, Florida, the weeks before Halloween were no different than usualโ but a charity had organized a special event that everyone was looking forward to.
The Strut, Wag, and Rock event, run by Vets4Pets Charitable Clinic, is advertised as โthe largest Halloween party for pets and their people in Tampa Bay.โ
This yearโs party had a 60s theme with numerous activities for people and pets alike. Volunteers had organized a pet-friendly vendor fair, collaborating with a local vodka distributor to create a specially-priced cocktail menu. But, the most popular event was by far the doggie costume contest.
On October 20, more than 100 dogs gathered to participate in the costume contestโ but a canine named Tommy completely stole the show.
During the event, onlooker Logan Harrell managed to capture footage of Tommyโs adorable costume and routine. Yes, you heard me rightโ full-blown routine. Clearly, Tommy is not an amateur and knows looks can only get you so far.
In the video, which has since been viewed thousands of times, you see the Schnauzer trailing his owner, clad in an adorable toy elephant costume.
Running around alongside his owner, you see Tommy is having a blast. His little costume trunk dangles toward the ground as he shakes his floppy, elephant ears.
Suddenly, the dog flops onto the ground as if heโs completely run out of energy.
Lying on the floor, in a โplaying deadโ position, Tommy does not move an inch. The dog is committed to his routine and you can tell heโs practiced it many times before. As he lays motionless, the audience begins to giggle.
Then, his owner approaches with a wind-up key.
Taking the windup key, the owner holds it to the dogโs back, giving him a few good โcranks.โ
Then, just like a real wind-up toy, Tommy is up and running again.
As you can imagine, people went nuts for the adorable performance. Animal costumes are one in a millionโ but Tommyโs routine is role-playing at its finest. In fact, People Magazine joked he should get an Oscar for the role.
Contrary to popular belief, Tommyโs acting skills didnโt come naturally, however.
The 9-year-old Schnauzer is actually a performer in the High Flying Pages fair with his contortionist owners. He performs alongside Nena, a 9-year-old Jack Russel Terrier who also lives in their homeโ and as The Tampa Bay Times reports, the wind-up elephant is his signature routine.
As you can imagine, Tommy has quite the personality, but his owner Yesid Hernandez says he doesnโt differ much from your average dog:
โHe likes to eat a lot and he loves to sleep. Heโs a lazy dog,โ he laughed.
Since being uploaded online Tommyโs adorable routine has been viewed over 4 million times across a variety of platforms.
People canโt get enough of his commitment to the role, leaving comments such as:
โNow thatโs just too damn cute!!โ
โThis is all I need.โ
โCutest thing Iโve seen all year.โ
P.S. In case you were wondering, Tommy definitely won first place.
Watch the adorable video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
