Photo: QueensPost
Oct. 28, 2013 By Sean Brosnan
The 2nd annual Sunnyside/Woodside Halloween Pet Parade drew a large crowd on Saturday, with over 200 people and at least 50 dogs all decked out in Halloween attire.
The march, dubbed the “Woofside Pet Parade” by local non-profit and organizer Woodside on the Move, began at Skillman Pets on 49th street and ended at Windmuller Park, where both pets and owners were treated to an array of Halloween festivities.
Prizes were awarded for Best Costume, Best Matching Dog & Human, and Funniest Costume. A red carpet was set out for the dogs to showcase their costumes as well as perform tricks for the judges.
Dogs ranged from Yorkshire Terriers to Komondors and were dressed as popes, strippers, brides and grooms, superheroes, turtles, the No. 7 train and chefs to name but a few.
There were even rabbits and cats at the event.
The sponsors included Skillman Pets, Queens Animal Hospital, FitPup and Petland Discounts, and they all set up tables at the park in order to give out treats and prizes to participating dogs and owners.
“I am so happy with this year’s parade,” said Adrian Bordoni, executive director of Woodside on the Move. “We just wanted something creative and fun …to make this neighborhood even more pet-friendly.”
The guest of honor was City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer who congratulated ‘Woodside on the Move’ for hosting another successful parade.
‘This is definitely a great, fun event for the neighborhood,” Van Bramer said. “I’m a dog lover myself, nothing against cats, I love them too but I love dogs more,” he joked.
“We are all dog lovers here,” Bordoni said. “I own a dog so I think if this keeps growing and the interest is there then we could definitely get a full Halloween pet festival going soon.”
Abdel Rios, owner of the Skillman Pets, echoed Bordoni’s statements and said that there was a sharp rise in participation from last year’s parade.
“Last year was good but this year was even better,” Rios said. “This really was a fantastic parade.”
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18 Comments
Sounds like it was a great turnout and a super fun event! Wish I could have made it.
When SUDS did our ‘Pick up the Poop’ event this year, it was obvious that the majority of poop on the sidewalk was from SMALL dogs.
Some people think that it’s so small it doesn’t need to be picked up? Bullsh*t.
PICK UP after your Dog!
RD
Well said @ rick duro. I have realized that most of those people come out either very early in the mornings or very late at night to leave their mess on the sidewalks.
I agree that there is an issue with poop being left on the sidewalk, as even *1* pile is too many. Only a lowlife, with poor upbringing, would refuse to pick it up. I wish it was more enforceable, as a $250 ticket should be a nice deterrent. They have to be caught in the act, which is difficult to do.
A small group of people create the problem. Think about it, if just 10 people are not picking up in a general area, out of 100’s of dog owners, that’s 20 piles of poo a day, 140 a week.
I walk my dog 4-5 times a day and can count on 1 hand how many times I have seen people not pick up in the last year. I ‘kindly’ offer them a bag and they pick it up, after lying saying that they either forgot a bag, or the dog had gone already. The people that are leaving it there are doing so when no one is around to see them, which is so absurd, selfish and lazy. Dogs are creatures of habit, so they go in the same 3-4 places all the time, which is why it is worse in some spots than others.
People need to be called out & embarassed. I have seen signs on entrances to buildings describing what the owner/dog look like as a way of shaming them. It’s sad that it has to come to that.
One person told me there are not enough trash cans to deposit the poop, to which I replied, ‘your bldg has a garbage chute, plus there are garbage cans on every block, USE THEM.’
Maybe we can make a wall of shame poster to put up in the area, with brief descriptions of the dog/owner.
Ideas?
RD
I can honestly say that the dog poop situation is so much better since the dog run has been opened. Thank you SUDS!
I love pets more when it comes to dogs. But lately this neighborhood sidewalks have been invaded with dog’s poop. I wish there was a patrol
person giving out summons to all the irresponsible, dirty dog owners who think that its ok to leave their dog poop on the sidewalks. I bet they would not let their dog do that in front of their own buildings. So to all those dog owners out there ” take your dog’s s__t with you”
Lots of party poopers posting on here…
Don’t forget. Send all your poop to me so I can start counting them, buddy. I love poop parades.
I see poop everywhere because I am full of it!
Don’t forget. There would be no poop to count without a parade, buddy.
* looking for this kid?
@ Sunnysideposthatesme14 – Don’t you get tired of complaining? Just because this isn’t something you would be interested in doesn’t mean it’s not fun or worthy of hosting and/or attending. Stop posting here already. Nobody cares about your opinion. By the way, Avonte has been missing since 10/4, which will be a month this Friday. We have an organization called the NYPD who have quite an extensive investigation into the search and rescue of Avonte Oquendo. Sadly, it doesn’t look good right now. I hope they find the kid. I wonder if you are volunteering any of your precious Internet troll time and if you are out there pounding the pavement looking for this l
What a waste of time, people should be getting together to find that damn Avonte kid not dressing their pets up and acting as if they are children.
I like to count dog poop.
Congrats to Adrian Bordoni, executive director of Woodside on the Move for putting together a GREAT event!!
Cheers,
Rick Duro
SUDS
It was fun to see all the dogs having fun.
Don’t forget to count yourself in there, buddy.
Big poop, little poop