DRESSED TO THE K-9s
TV spotlight on dog grooming, canine couture

Tuesday, January 08, 2008
By N. CLARK JUDD
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Dina O'Hare says she spends plenty of money on clothes for one of her favorite family members - her dog.

"Monthly, I spend about $160," she said. "That's not even including food or grooming."

O'Hare does the shopping for Sandy, an energetic Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix she calls a "Pomchi," and Sandy's never asked to have any of the outfits returned to the store.

The pampered pooch now sports a brown jacket, scarf, raincoat (with matching hat), booties, and even a bathrobe for trips to the groomer. O'Hare, a mother, says the money is really spent on her children.

"The kids like to dress him up and then walk him," O'Hare said.

O'Hare was one of more than a dozen people hoping for a shot at stardom at Diamond Dog Grooming in Bayonne yesterday morning, where CW11's Larry Hoff hosted three segments for the station's morning news show. The show began at 6 a.m., but the early hour didn't deter Debby Kaneshige or Baxter, her Shih Tzu.

"Baxter wanted his 15 minutes of fame," Kaneshige explained.

Baxter was featured in a brief scene where Hoff and Diamond owner Lisa Buccianti gave him a haircut and also groomed Gizmo, a Pekingese.

Buccianti learned how to care for dogs after one of her own pooches got a horrific haircut from a groomer. She went to grooming school and started working in Manhattan, she said. Now her store, opened in November, has more than 100 canine clients from Bayonne, Jersey City, Orange, and even some who followed her from New York City.

Gizmo's owner, Judy Christiano, said her dog has become attached to Buccianti. He gets upset when he sees Diamond closed for business.

"He stands by the window and cries," said Christiano, who is also caught up in the canine clothing craze.

Admitting she spends "a lot" on doggie duds, Christiano pointed to a small dog-sized T-shirt on the wall with the slogan, "Bad to the Bone." Gizmo has one at home, she said, adding that the shirt comes with built-in flashing lights.

"It's just such fun, and people get such a kick out of seeing him in outfits," Christiano explained.

The get-up on Cie Cie Kochanski's Chihuahua, Rio, made him a star of the show yesterday. He appeared on camera first in a leather jacket and matching cap, then in a plaid lumberjack outfit.

As Rio lapped water from a water bottle cap Kochanski held for him, she explained that she dresses him up and takes him everywhere - including the movie theater.

"I put him in my pocket and take him in with me," Kochanski said. "I'll buy a soda and a popcorn and we'll share it."

Not all the dogs made the cut. Buddy, a Lab mix who owner Bob Gasson prefers to call an "American Eclectic," got too excited every time he got near the action.