Halloween Guide Our guide to Twin Cities-themed costumes for your pet

Hitting a doggie Halloween walk or kitty party this witching season? Lord knows it’s hard enough thinking of one’s own Halloween costume, let alone putting any sort of thought into a furry friend’s getup. Lazy people can pick up pet costumes from someplace like Target, but The A.V. Club can lend a hand to anyone who wants to get really creative. We’ve put together a list of totally local costumes guaranteed to win any sort of costume contest, garner some extra treats from the shop owner around the corner, or really piss off your pug. Let the costuming begin.

Scott Seekins
Here’s one for you arty types. Take a baby-to-child-sized suit (depending on the size of your dog). It’ll have to be black; our subject wears black during the cooler seasons. Cut out a tail-hole in the trousers. Put it on the dog. Now, somehow affix a pair of glasses onto your little buddy’s snout. Next, paint some thick chops and a pencil ’stache onto his face. This costume is most likely to turn heads in the downtown skyways, where Seekins hangs out every day, or at parties around MCAD, Seekins’ alma mater. 

Prince
Here’s a costume that’s sure to get you a lot of attention at the expense of your pet’s comfort. The real question with this one is which of Prince’s iconic wardrobe explosions you want to put on Mr. Kitty. You could do Raspberry Beret Prince, but who the hell knows where to get a velvet cloud suit, let alone a cat-sized one? You could do Darling Nikki Prince, but we all know how cats hate wearing gloves. No, we’re gonna go with Lovesexy Prince. All you need for that is a feathered wig and a chinstrap beard. (Note: Incorporating a real chinstrap may help keep the wig from falling off.)

Mayor Rybak
This costume works best on Huskies and Siamese cats, since they may be the only pet breeds with the same piercing blue eyes as our beloved mayor. Now, any kind of gray, suit-like apparatus you can get onto your dog or cat will be fine. It won’t be the focus of attention. What’s key in your R.T. pet costume will be selecting the perfect tacky necktie. Multiple crazy colors and a pattern that seems cut out from one of Bill Cosby’s sweaters are what you’re looking for. To top it off, you could tie a smartphone displaying Rybak’s extremely active Twitter feed to puppy’s/kitty’s collar.

Northeast Minneapolis
This costume concept is best achieved with multiple pets. Take little Fluffers and put a tiny boiler suit on him. This will be our third generation Polish, blue-collar family man. Now take Fido and give him some jorts you might have lying around, and an American Apparel Cotton Wide Stripe Jersey Tank. Also, tape a PBR can to him. This will be our student-aged resident who rents in Northeast and drives up his neighbors’ property taxes. Now, here’s the hard part: Get Fido to chase Fluffers out of the neighborhood forever.

Uptown Theater
Here’s one for the film buff cat or dog. Cover a thin, rectangular tissue box with white paper—this will serve as the marquee, so feel free to advertise what’s playing inside. (Maybe it’s The Room? The Rocky Horror Picture Show? You get the idea.) To create the well-known Uptown sign, cover an empty paper towel tube in red paper. For the green “Uptown” lettering, use a crayon to write out the letters or cut them out of green paper if you’re feeling more ambitious. Attach this tube to the top of the tissue box, and then attach the entire structure to a cat or dog harness ($5-$8 at pet stores) to make sure it stays in place for the party.

The Light Rail
This costume is perfect for cats that love the riveting time spent hanging out in boxes. (Looking at you, Maru!) Cover an empty shoebox in yellow construction paper, and cut out a hole at the front for the cat’s head to fit through. Cut holes on the side for windows, and add decorations for headlights or street names. The best part of the costume is the lack of maintenance needed. The dirtier the cat, the better the partygoers will be able to experience that authentic Metro Transit aroma. Plus, the immobility caused by the cardboard will authentically slow the little thing down and possibly cause it to run into things or people.

Juno
This is for that special cat or dog still in its younger days, obviously not fixed, who wants to pay homage to Diablo Cody’s Oscar-winning set-in-Minnesota film. All you need is a cute, brightly colored, striped T-shirt, a throw pillow, and a willing animal. (Maybe a cat isn’t the best candidate for this costume.) Put the small shirt on the dog and stuff the pillow into the gut of the thing. If you really want to go all out, buy a pony-tail wig for your pooch, or perhaps some kind of recording device that allows you to record unbelievably witty shit and then play it back on command.