Lansing — Gallivanting to MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" and shining in this season's sharpest fashions, the canines in Old Town's Studio 1210 had a moment to sparkle Sunday during the second annual Gone 2 the Dogs Spring Fashion Show.
About 20 dogs donned handmade designs by Gone 2 the Dogs owner Jana Nicol, who organized the show last year for something to do.
"I was just looking for fun things to do for people to enjoy and to laugh," she said.
A $5 admission helps finance the Robert P. Busby Jazz Scholarship Fund, which was created in honor of the Creole Gallery owner who was murdered late last month.
Busby's granddaughter, Gabrielle, 7, walked Nicol's pooch, Tori, during the show in a pink camouflage outfit.
"She's doing good," Gabrielle said of Tori's catwalk behavior. "I'm kind of letting her go loose and do what she wants."
Most dogs were more interested in the 50 fashion show attendees than in their spring fashions, which made it tough to keep the bedazzled canine outfits intact throughout the show.
Lansing resident Megan Kossuth, 23, wrestled a pink velour top over the head of her 6-month-old cockapoo, Stella.
"She's just very excited right now," Kossuth said. "She's a very good puppy."
Kossuth, who moved to the area from California two months ago, said Stella was invited to participate in the show during a visit to Nicol's shop. She said she enjoys dressing Stella up — but not in public.
"We like to dress her up in the privacy of our home," she said. "She has dresses and pajamas and sweaters."
Marketing senior Eric Aho helped organize this year's fashion show after participating as a walker last year. He held his 2-year-old miniature pinscher, Giselle, as she trembled in a purple jacket with a pillbox hat — pulling off the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis look, Aho said.
"She has her own drawer in my dresser," Aho said, adding that Giselle's wardrobe consists of a multitude of outfits and both spring and summer shoes.
"She goes around naked from time to time," he said.
Rachelle Anthony, owner of All Shapes & Sizes grooming salon in East Lansing, strapped a pink pleather biker hat on her 13-week-old shih tzu backstage. Anthony also said longtime friend Nicol asked her to participate in this year's fashion show.
"She's pulled the hat off almost every time I put it on her," Anthony said. "I'm putting these dog treats out here so she won't go everywhere."
The fashion extravaganza ended with a strut to Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy."
Nicol said this year's show was bigger and better than last year's. Now, she's setting her sights on new events.
"Maybe we'll do a dog wedding," she said. "Last year, we married two poodles — just for fun."
