Oct. 29, 2012 By Christian Murray
More than one hundred residents accompanied by about 70 dogs participated in the first annual “Woofside” Halloween Pet Parade on Saturday.
The event, organized by Woodside on the Move, drew dog owners from across the neighborhood who dressed their pooches as cowboys, pirates, ballerinas, ball-room dancers, hot dogs, bumble bees, commandos and even knights. There were also two cats in costume, although they kept well away from the canines.
Most owners registered their dogs at Skillman Pets (49th and Skillman Ave.), where the parade began. Adrian Bordoni, the executive director of Woodside on the Move, led the parade from the pet store to Windmuller Park, followed by packs of dogs and their owners.
Tony Bruno, a well-known pop singer, attended the event with his dog “Alfie”, who was dressed up as a firefighter complete with a firefighter helmet.
“I think this is a fantastic event,” Bruno said, and looks forward to attending next year’s event as well. “The crowd is much bigger than I ever would have expected.”
Luilly Andrade, who recently became the owner of a Weiner dog and lives on 39th Place, said the event is great “especially for a first-time dog owner. It’s a great opportunity to meet people.”
The cost of participation was $20. Dog owners received goody bags, chances to win raffles as well the ability to win costume prizes. The prizes were donated by Skillman Pets and Camp Bow Wow. The two big prize winners were won by a dog dressed as a knight and another as a cowboy accompanied by a young cowgirl (see photos).
Bordoni said that the event is great for building community spirit and that he was happy with the way it turned out.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Van Bramer, who marched alongside the dogs, announced that he was allocating $250,000 for the rehabilitation of the existing dog run at Doughboy Park.
The dog run in Doughboy Park is small, rocky and is in need of being flattened. Van Bramer said that the New York City Parks Department would evaluate it and then plans would be put together.
“The existing dog run is not as good as we want it to be,” he said, adding that a lot of people in the neighborhood have dogs or like dogs. “It’s going to be great for our four-legged friends.
8 Comments
Great pictures, John! Nice camera!
@O’Shea
Here’s a few I snapped: http://imgur.com/a/nC3w8
Love it! I wish I could have been there. We had to cancel. 🙁 It looks like a great time was had by all! Great story! As Jimmy said, our four legged friends will be very happy once their two dog runs are up and running!
I hope after Jimmy looks at the park after the hurricane he might consider spending the $250,000 on every park user’s needs, not just dog owners.
I love it doggy style.
This was a really nice, happy neighborhood event. May we have many more.
More pictures SSP. Less words.
Bravo!