Photogenic Dog Loves Dressing Up in Elaborate Cardboard Cutouts

Meet Chihuahua-mametaro—the adorable little dog who loves to peek his head through the most imaginative cardboard cutouts. His human companion is a Japanese woman named Semba. In her spare time, Semba creates recyclable costumes, shapes, and masks for her pup to wear. She began with basic shapes (curlicues, stars, lion manes) until she grew more confident in her creations and began to craft complicated designs based on manga and playing cards. Semba shares her photos of Chihuahua-mametaro on her Twitter account, @myouonnin. “People laugh when they see these photos,” she tells Buzzfeed. “They also praise the dog, who manages to stay still.”

Indeed, it is the cooperative Chihuahua-mametaro who is the star of these photographs—even when half of his body is hidden by the costume. When it’s time for Semba to press the shutter, she yells the magic words, “Go home!” and the little dog pops his smiling face through the hole. Both Semba and her dog show that it doesn’t take much to create joy. Sometimes you just need cardboard and a bit of patience.