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Fur real? Dog groomer transforms pooch into polar bear

Fur real: Bijou the poodle transformed into a polar bear (Caters)
Fur real: Bijou the poodle transformed into a polar bear (Caters)

A dog groomer has been using absolutely all of her training to transform her pet poodle into a range of unlikely animals.

From peacock to polar bear, Rachelle Lynn McGinnis has created a variety of crazy looks for her pooch, Bijou.

The 33-year-old, who owns a dog grooming business called K-9 designs, uses controversial methods such as dying and carving the fur of her pooch to create the inventive styles.

But according to Rachelle, Bijou – who is 12 years old – loves being transformed into different species no matter how long it takes.

Bijou loves being groomed, Rachelle says (Caters)
Bijou loves being groomed, Rachelle says (Caters)

Rachelle, from Missouri, USA said: “The wackier designs the better. It’s something I love doing and I feel like it shows off my creativity.

“Bijou is colour blind – she’s not bothered what she looks like as long as she’s healthy, loved and happy.”

The timing of Rachelle’s unique designs can vary massively, and each are their own project – with some taking almost a year of preparations.

Rachelle has also transformed Bijou into a horse – her most complex design yet (Caters)
Rachelle has also transformed Bijou into a horse – her most complex design yet (Caters)


Rachelle added: “At the moment she looks like a polar bear, and this one requires lots of hairspray.

“She’s so fluffy that the main part of it is washing and brushing her.

“To actually style it, the final part only takes about 30 minutes, but to grow her fur to look like a polar bear took 11 months.”

It took Rachelle “a couple of hours” to cut the fur into the right shapes, a job she completed in stages so Bijou didn’t need to stand for too long.

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The polar bear look is hard to maintain, Rachelle admits (Caters)
The polar bear look is hard to maintain, Rachelle admits (Caters)

Bijou’s most time-consuming transformation was from dog to horse, however: “My most complex design was turning her into a horse – she had a saddle, and mane.

“It was such an intricate carving, it must have taken about eight hours to complete.”

Barking mad? Bijou and Rachelle (Caters)
Barking mad? Bijou and Rachelle (Caters)

Rachelle’s designs have attracted a lot of attention for Bijou, and she claims everyone stops to take a look.

She said: “People always ask for pictures – I’ve even had people get out of their car because they want to stroke her.

“For Bijou, it’s all about the attention – it’s not like she looks in the mirror, she just loves being groomed and stroked.”

Polar perfection: Rachelle is proud of the transformations she’s achieved (Caters)
Polar perfection: Rachelle is proud of the transformations she’s achieved (Caters)

Rachelle added: “In order to get her image looking really realistic I had to get the polar bear design perfectly.

“I also had to make sure the photos were great so she had to be stood at a certain angle with her neck elongated and we were lucky – we got some great shots of her in the snow.

“My plan is to make her a sheep next – the polar bear is hard to maintain, but with a sheep she can have a fluffy body, and then closely trimmed paws, dyed black like hooves. I am very proud of my creations so far.”

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