Project Runway — for rabbits

A Milwaukie woman — and her rabbit — team up with one of the stars from the popular reality show

By Ellen Spitaleri

The Clackamas Review, Apr 20, 2010, Updated Apr 21, 2010 (1 Reader comment)

dick trtek / clackamas Review

Patty Younglove and Seth Aaron Henderson cuddle with a now-famous rabbit named Miss Mollee Muffin at the recent Dove Lewis Boutiques Unleashed Fashion Show..

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It was a madcap scene — a yellow lab in a multi-colored tutu; a snow white French poodle with teased fur and tasteful highlights in neon pink and green; a llama with impossibly long eyelashes.

And then there was Miss Mollee Muffin, a fluffy gray and white rabbit in a dress.

But this was not just any dress, indeed Miss Mollee was clad in a handmade, geometric-patterned black and white couture gown made for her by Seth Aaron Henderson, one of three finalists on this season’s “Project Runway.”

Miss Mollee was the mystery model who came down the runway last, during the Fifth Annual Dove Lewis Boutiques Unleashed Fashion Show on April 9; she was accompanied by her owner Patty Younglove, who was wearing a tasteful ivory ensemble with sparkly accents.

Although this was a fun event for Miss Mollee, a 4-year-old Holland Lop rabbit, she is a working bunny and a graduate of the Dove Lewis Animal Assistance Program.

As a therapy bunny, Mollee makes visits to a group home in Oregon City, where autistic adults pet her and smile, and stops in at Rose Villa in Milwaukie, to interact with adults with severe disabilities.

“People live such stressed lives; it is nice for them to encounter a soft, fluffy animal. It helps people’s day when they can stroke something soft and see something good. And Mollee is accepting and loves everybody,” Younglove said.

A Jennings Lodge resident, Younglove takes Mollee everywhere with her in a shoulder bag; not surprisingly, Mollee’s favorite section of Fred Meyer is the produce department.

It is the element of surprise that amuses people when they see Mollee peeking out of the purse.

“People say, ‘Is that a rabbit?’ or they’ll say, ‘You’ve made my day,’” Younglove noted.

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