Is she fur real?
A pet owner from San Diego, Calif. has been accused of animal cruelty after dyeing her dog shocking shades of pink and purple.
Angela Schoonover, 42, first started experimenting with the appearance of her pet pooch, Zoe, a year ago, sending her haters barking mad.
But the defiant dog owner insists that Zoe is happy and healthy — and enamored with the attention she receives from her striking look.
“When videos of her go viral, they seem to get a lot of hate,” Schoonover told Southwest News Service of her pink and purple pup.
“But when people actually meet her in person, they can see exactly how she embodies her look. It’s like I can read her mind — she just wants to be a colorful, magical unicorn.”
Schoonover welcomed one-year-old Zoe into her home just before July 4, 2022, and immediately decided to dye the dog’s fur patriotic shades of red, white and blue.
“I started dyeing her feet,” the pet owner recalled of her Independence Day design, saying she subsequently became hooked on the practice.
Soon, Schoonover started dyeing other parts of the pet’s body and opted for much more radical colors.
However, the owner insists she’s not using damaging human-grade hair dyes, having forked out over $500 for dye from the pet-safe brand Ozpaw.
“All the dye I use is pet-friendly and non-toxic,” Schoonover said.“I think it’s important to stress that It’s incredibly gentle, and it just feels like a constant massage for Zoe.”
“It’s more or less like dyeing fur with blueberry juice,” she further insisted, saying the product was 100% vegan.
Schoonover believes Zoe’s striking look simply reflects her outgoing personality.
“She’s flirty to people who take selfies with her — she loves kissing. And she’s a total ham, playing up to the camera and posing,” she cooed. “It’s impossible not to like her when you meet her in real life.”
Rules regarding the dyeing of a dog’s fur differ from state to state. California has not prohibited the practice, meaning Schoonover isn’t breaking any laws.
However, according to Wag!, four US states — Colorado, Florida, Maine and South Carolina — have laws forbidding the practice.
In Colorado, for instance, a dog can be forcibly removed from an owner who has dyed the animal’s fur. A minimum $1,000 fine is also imposed.
