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Pooches get their paws on Easter bonnets for RNLI

Lara Kingin Cleethorpes
BBC A dog wearing a decorative Easter-themed costume with large pink-and-white bunny ears and a wreath covered in pastel flowers, eggs, and small ornaments around the dog’s head and shoulders. A person is standing behind the dog on a road, and other participants’ legs and shadows appear in the background.BBC
Five-year-old retriever Sonny and his owner, Abbie Waldron, were named as having the best Easter bonnet

From daffodil‑dotted headpieces to elaborately decorated straw hats, dogs have been donning Easter bonnets at a seaside resort.

Nearly a dozen dogs were parading on Cleethorpes promenade on Friday morning, some looking bewildered as they posed in uncanine head couture - all in the name of charity.

The event, organised by volunteers from Cleethorpes RNLI, invited dog owners to design and create an Easter bonnet for their four‑legged friends to raise money for the lifeboat station.

Tracey Athorn, fundraising chair of the Cleethorpes and Grimsby RNLI, said she came up with the "mad idea" to support the charity and the event was "a sight to behold".

A large black-and-white dog stands on a paved path in the foreground wearing a bright green costume with orange and blue decorative shapes attached near the head. Behind the dog, two unidentified children sit on a low concrete kerb beside a grassy slope, with an adult standing nearby. Another small dog on a lead is visible to the left. Houses and greenery appear in the background.
This five-year-old Newfoundland named Belle wears a bonnet with a duck neckerchief and bunny headband.

She said it was the first time the RNLI had organised such a seaside spectacle.

"I woke at three in the morning one day and thought what can I do and an Easter bonnet parade was born.

"I am absolutely blessed to say that everybody's come out to support us.

"The RNLI at Cleethorpes is run by volunteers. Not one person gets paid in that station for anything that they do, so we are proud to be part of this community who support us."

A woman stands on a residential street holding a large retreiver dog on a lead. The dog wears a colourful decorative headpiece with upright bunny ears and a floral wreath around its neck. Other people walk along the street behind them, with houses, grassy verges, and a bright, partly cloudy sky visible in the background.
Abbie Waldron said it took her two weeks to make the headpiece for her retriever Sonny

Five-year-old retriever Sonny was named by the charity as having the best Easter bonnet.

His owner Abbie Waldron, from Grimsby, made the outfit from a protective medical cone collar, which is normally worn by dogs to prevent them from licking their wounds.

"He is often in a cone. We're often at the vets so we thought we'd use his cone and fill it with Easter things. I'm just happy, it's been so much fun. He's loved it, he's loved all the attention," she said.

Six-year-old Hope brought along her two-year-old Italian greyhound named Bethany to the event.

She said: "We're matching with the hats and stuff but Bethany's hat is the best because hers has a little bow on it and mini eggs.

"It was nice for all these people to come and do this."

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