Chihuahuas Rule!

Once again, a Chihuahua won.

I was a judge for the Petland Pet Costume Contest this afternoon. Other judges were my colleague Tim Chitwood and Columbus public relations guru Sheila Salter.

So even though I own a Chihuahua, there were two other people who agreed with me.

L'il Bit, is a tiny, tiny Chihuahua, unlike my giant Chi, Chipper. She was dressed as a homeless Chi. She wore a teeny knitted cap and a sandwich board. On one side, it said "Economy hitting hard" and the other side said "Will bark for treats." Around her neck, she had a tiny tin can with the word "treats" written on it.

Our photo chief, Mike Haskey, took this marvelous photo of L'il Bit. Mike and his wife, Rebecca, own two Chihuahuas. But we are not biased at all.

We all liked the fact that the owners used a lot of creativity in dressing up their dog. I spoke to the owner later and she said L'il Bit won the same contest two years ago.

Second place went to Ink, a turtle dressed as a queen. She made her way majestically across the parking lot, followed by her princesses, two huge dogs that were dressed as Snow White and Cinderella. I can't remember their names.

Third place was Punk, a white poodle dyed green with a red mouth. Of course, playing the Joker from the last "Batman" movie.

All of the pets, mostly dogs, but including the turtle and a guinea pig, were wonderful. I wish they could all win.