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 usual— 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 “the largest Halloween party for pets and their people in Tampa Bay.”
This year’s 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 contest— but a canine named Tommy completely stole the show.
During the event, onlooker Logan Harrell managed to capture footage of Tommy’s adorable costume and routine. Yes, you heard me right— 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 he’s completely run out of energy.
Lying on the floor, in a “playing dead” position, Tommy does not move an inch. The dog is committed to his routine and you can tell he’s 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 dog’s back, giving him a few good “cranks.”
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 million— but Tommy’s routine is role-playing at its finest. In fact, People Magazine joked he should get an Oscar for the role.
Contrary to popular belief, Tommy’s acting skills didn’t 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 home— 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 doesn’t differ much from your average dog:
“He likes to eat a lot and he loves to sleep. He’s a lazy dog,” he laughed.
Since being uploaded online Tommy’s adorable routine has been viewed over 4 million times across a variety of platforms.
People can’t get enough of his commitment to the role, leaving comments such as:
“Now that’s just too damn cute!!”
“This is all I need.”
“Cutest thing I’ve seen all year.”
P.S. In case you were wondering, Tommy definitely won first place.
Watch the adorable video below!
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