Ottawa pooch's costumes gain international profile
Crusoe 'the Celebrity Dachshund' a hit on Facebook, featured in Daily Mail
An Ottawa dog is leaving his print in the British tabloid press.
Crusoe, a four-year-old dachshund who lives in Ottawa with his owner Ryan Beauchesne, has now become the poster pooch for Halloween costume inspiration on the Daily Mail's website.
"They came across one of my blog posts," said Beauchesne. "They figured they would do a post just on Crusoe, which is awesome."
Crusoe has been garnering attention in the online world since 2011, when Beauchesne launched a blog called the Celebrity Dachshund.
"We kind of started it just for fun and then it kind of took off and really caught on so we decided to keep at it," he said. "It has kind of just grown organically."
The blog follows life from Crusoe's lens, and Beauchesne says he often dresses up his pet for online posts.
Mountie, 'Batdog' among costumes
"He has various sorts of alter egos," Beauchesne said. "He is occasionally bat dog, he is Chef Crusoe ... he has a whole chef outfit...he is a very avid fisherman."
Crusoe also received attention when he was on Parliament Hill on Canada Day dressed as a Mountie.
Beauchesne says his pet has the personality to play different parts.
"He is very stubborn, very kind of bossy like a celebrity might be I guess. He often gets his way," Beauchesne said.
Beauchesne says Crusoe's online profile continues to grow. The dog has nearly 40,000 likes on his Facebook page. His owner is also active on other online sites including Reddit and Twitter.
"It is a pretty demanding job actually," he said. "My girlfriend says I need to spend more time with her."
Owner prefers handmade costumes for pets
Beauchesne makes most of Crusoe's costumes from scratch at his west Ottawa home.
He says pet owners should get creative when they are putting together Halloween costumes for their animals.
"I always think the best costume is an original, handmade costume," Beauchesne said. "If you have the abilities to do that, I would definitely say see what you can do with that."
This Halloween, Beauchesne says he and his girlfriend plan to dress up as Phil and Si Robertson from the popular A&E reality show Duck Dynasty. Crusoe will be dressed up as a duck.