This was the most e-mailed photo on Yahoo.com during a week in October. (AP photo/Richard Vogel)

Cute as buttons!

Half-sisters Mochi and Olive have caused quite a stir in the dog world.  An Associated Press photo of the two in their flower headwear was the most e-mailed photo on Yahoo a week before Halloween. The photo is still in the top ten this week.

Their mom, Lisa Woodruff of Huntington Beach, Calif., makes all of their costumes.  They've won several costume contests because of her unique and fun designs.

The pugs have the same father and were born three weeks apart.  Mochi, a fawn, was 9 weeks old and Olive, a black pug,  was 6 weeks old when they were brought home by Woodruff and her husband, Woody.

Now at 5-1/2 years old, the petite girls are in their prime, both slightly under 15 pounds despite their favorite pastime: eating. 

Woodruff's love affair with pugs began after her elderly Dalmation passed away. She did research on what breed would suit her best. She was looking for a dog that didn't need a lot of exercise and would be the ultimate companion dog. "I wanted a dog that would love to follow me and want to sit on my lap." That describes the pug completely!     

How did Woodruff start designing dog costumes?  The first costume she made was for her Dalmation, who was dressed as a hula girl. She could not find costumes for large dogs, so she improvised. She used a human costume and re-sized it.
 

(AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

When she got Mochi and Olive, her costumes got more creative.  For the Haute Dog Howl-oween parade,  Woodruff dressed them as authentic geishas. Since Woodruff's mother is from Japan, she is familiar with its language and its customs. She found someone in Japan that made real kimonos for dogs. Then she set about making their wigs, using her own Japanese hair ornaments. Her husband got in the act too. He used a child's bike cart to make their rickshaw.  

Over the years, Mochi and Olive have dressed as surfer girls,  in Easter dresses and bonnets, as elves, and as sushi.  Although Woodruff says she's not a clothing designer, her work has become well-known internationally. Mochi and Olive appeared on a Japanese primetime show and shows in Germany and Spain..

Last month, an AP reporter did a story on Woodruff and her custom costumes.   "The girls did so well. They posed like models. The article came out on Oct. 15  and the rest is history! It's everywhere. Then the photo of them as flowers took off and became the most emailed photo on Yahoo."

The Woodruffs' world revolve around their dogs. "We love to take them to dog-friendly cafes, so we can go out with them." The girls love to ride in the car. Each dog has her own doggie carseat so they're safe during the ride,  besides having a good view out of the window. Mochi dozes quickly, but Olive stays awake the whole time, captivated with the world outside.

Lisa Woodruff with Olive and husband, Woody, with Mochi, on vacation in Carmel.  (Photo courtesy L. Woodruff)

Once pugged, always pugged

"Only pug people would understand this. To know a pug, is to love a pug. I love their smooshed faces & big eyes & little crooked rice grain-looking teeth. I take comfort in hearing their snores at night. "     

The love affair continues. Woodruffs adds, " Did you know that pugs feet smell like Fritos?"   

I think most pug lovers will be delighted to find out.

Tags: lisa woodruff, pet costumes, pugs

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 9:40 am and is filed under costume, dogs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.