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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Chloe Cawood & Nia Dalton

Pampered pooch transforms into Winnie the Pooh's Tigger with extreme 10-hour makeover

A dog owner with a passion for film enjoys transforming her adorable service dog, Walter, into well-known Disney and Pixar characters.

From Monsters Inc to The Matrix, Toy Story and Alice in Wonderland, Walter looks unrecognisable with bright orange, blue and even checkerboard print fur.

Jessica Holloway, 28, from Toronto, Canada, who is now a full-time creative dog groomer, spends up to £1,000 a year on premium rainbow colours to dye her three-year-old poodle's coat.

She said: "At first, I was worried what people would think but when people see us on the street, they stop me to tell me beautiful he looks - some have even stopped traffic to tell me he looks amazing."

Strangers stop to look at Walter in the street (Brent D'Silva / MERCURY PRESS)

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While Walter's looks turn heads when he's out for walks, Jessica says that a lot of planning and effort goes into the transformation, and her doggy makeover addiction costs her a fortune.

"Over the past two years, I've spent around £2,000 on colours which last up to 20 washes," she explained.

"When I do the slinky dog look, it took me up around 10 hours because I had to carve out where I would shave and it was really difficult to get the tail shaped right.

"After each crazy look, I shave him right down to the skin but he's a poodle so this grows back fully in about four months ready for the next look."

Every product Jessica uses is vegan and cruelty-free, and "the colour is actually so safe a human could probably ingest it".

Jessica's lifelong passion for film led her to a career in the film industry, before she fell unwell and had to take some time off.

"When it was lockdown and there was nothing to do, I started going crazy in the house looking to do something creative so I started practising looks on Walter," she said.

"After a year of having him, I started doing the crazy looks on him whenever I was having a difficult time as this really helped me."

Makeovers can take as long as 10 hours (Brent D'Silva / MERCURY PRESS)

Jessica has had Walter since he was a puppy, and he is trained to support her when she has vertigo and migraine episodes.

"As well as being a great model, he really helps me because he's trained in de-pressure therapy. When I'm feeling light-headed, he lies on my body and really helps me control my breathing," she explained.

Walter is incredibly well-behaved and is happy to sit there while Jessica trims, colours and blow-dries his fur.

"I've now undergone my own training and I've started working in a shop, however I don't recommend people trying this on their own dog if they don't know what they're doing," Jessica said.

Do you have a dog story to sell? Email nia.dalton@reachplc.com.

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