STANWOOD – Marilyn Egerdahl loves to hear people say she looks like her dog, Toby.
The 5-year-old cairn terrier has the same brown eyes, happy smile and gold and silver fluffy hair as Egerdahl does.
Their personalities are similar, too. “We’re both over-friendly,” said Egerdahl, 59, of Camano Island.
In spite of all those similarities, it still came as a surprise to Egerdahl when she and Toby won a dog-and-owner look-alike contest Sunday afternoon at the Cooper and Cadie Dogfest.
The two-day event drew about 2,000 dog lovers to a farm north of town and ended on Sunday, said organizer Jerald Richardson of Stanwood.
Richardson, 33, a business owner in town, said he and his wife, Lisa, started the festival this year to raise money for community services such as scholarships for high school students.
“We wanted to give something back to the community,” he said. The event featured a variety of vendors and activities and raised $4,000, Richardson estimated.
Shaelynn Cloud, 8, and her twin brother Anthony were among the 10 contestants in the look-alike contest.
Shaelynn had a puppy paw painted in black on her cheek and smiled big for judges next to Yasim, a 7-month-old sheltie.
She didn’t win the competition, but her mother Lori Cloud said, “They act alike. They are both outgoing and like people.”
Friends talked winner Egerdahl into joining the contest.
Egerdahl has gone through ordeals after her husband died of a heart attack last year, said friend Patti Twitchell, also of Camano Island. A cat that Egerdahl kept for 22 years recently died as well.
Twitchell said she was happy to see a positive thing happen to Egerdahl at the contest.
Twitchell had her share of fun on Sunday, too. Her two Dobermans – Peanut, 10, and Deja Vu, 5, – won the beauty contest.
In the morning, Twitchell cut their toenails, brushed their teeth and their coats, and put mink oil on them.
“I didn’t imagine, but both of them won,” she said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
