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Detroit-area residents lift spirits with costumed parades

Detroit-area residents lift spirits with costumed parades
Detroit-area residents lift spirits with costumed parades
Detroit-area residents lift spirits with costumed parades
Posted at 6:15 PM, May 13, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-13 19:11:31-04

FERNDALE, Mich. (AP) — Sarah Ignash spends her days looking after dogs in normal times.

With her business temporarily shuttered because of the coronavirus, though, she's taken to walks on the wild side through her Detroit suburb with dancing bears, bipedal zebras and the like.

Ignash's business in nearby Roseville specializes in boarding, grooming and day care for dogs.

She is one of the roughly two dozen members of the Ferndale T-Rex Walking Club who have been donning inflatable costumes for feel-good jaunts during these stressful times.

“We’re a secret walking club that pops up on occasion if the weather permits,” said Ignash to WXYZ.

The members' suits run the gamut from dancing hippos and bears to a cheerful Pikachu.

And, of course, there's a T-Rex.

Ignash told WXYZ that she was given the inflatable Pink Unicorn costume as a gift for Christmas to compliment the T-Rex costume she already owned.

“The kids in the neighborhood, they freak out, they run out of the houses to their yards to see us,” Ignash said.