Fire Hydrant (being Peed on by a Dog) Costume

I made this costume in 2011 for the NYC Halloween Parade.  

Materials used:

Hot Glue gun and sticks (high Heat)
Big Pieces of Foam Core
Brick Print Contact Paper
Acrylic and Spray Paints (Gray, Brown, Red, Silver, Black)
Wooden Dowels (various sizes)
Expanding Spray Foam
Heating Pipe Insulating Tube
PVC pipe and connectors for dog head/body/tail to connect
Wire
Zip Ties
Black matching chess pieces
LED Shoelaces (yellow) and other Battery Powered Lights
Random Plastic Parts in various shapes to create lampshade, fire hydrant detail
3 Large Sturdy Belts
Lightweight Fur
Fake Plants, Street Cleaning Sign, Window Sill, etc...

Using foam core, hot glue and brick contact paper, I created a "building wall" where it meets the sidewalk, including a sidewalk all the way to the curb.  In the building wall, I put a window that was left a little open and had a curtain hanging behind it, a windowsill with fall plants in a fake terra cotta pot, a little pumpkin… whatever worked to make it look like a real building/urban scene. Here is a picture of some items laid out before I started putting it all together (I thought I was going to make the lamp post green back then...).  For the "bars" on the window, I used small black dowels with matching black chess pieces on the top ends.

I created a dog by cutting the outline of the dog and building it up one side at a time with expanding spray foam which, when dry and hardened, I then cut down, sanded and sculpted into the shape of the dog - then covered with fake fur. I did the same for his head - made a big ball of expanded spray foam (with open snout, tongue sticking out and PVC connector piece inside).

I attached the dog to one side of the sidewalk using reinforced wood dowels running from his legs, rigging his hind leg into an “up” peeing position with a small dowel for support and giving him a lit pee stream using battery operated yellow LED shoelaces (flashing, of course, to call attention to it).  The rigged leg dowel was exposed but painted black and added support to the dog. (sorry I have no pictures of this process).

In the center of the sidewalk curb, close to the back wall, I made a hole in the foam core base big enough for myself to squeeze through and created the a fire hydrant using a large piece of curved cardboard and dowels, covered with a plastic mat sprayed red and a few random plastic parts (also sprayed red as well as metallic silver: an upside down plastic bowl for the lid on my head, plastic chain, etc…).  Next to the hydrant I created a lamp post using a reinforced heating pipe insulating tube with wood dowel and wire inside, a rectangular plastic bin for the base and an empty oval plastic salad container for the shade - spray painting it all gray. I zip tied a battery operated light inside.  I attached a street cleaning sign with zip ties to really drive the point home (took a picture of the real sign, sized it, printed two copies which I glued and shellacked either side with Modge Podge on a piece of foam core). (sorry I have no pictures of this process).

The costume was attached to me from the back wall, which had 3 belts attaching to my waist and crisscrossing across my chest.