Halloween in Brooklyn is further proof that nothing puts people in a good mood faster than little dogs in little costumes.
At District Dog’s 3rd Annual Halloween Parade and Costume Contest, hundreds of pets in mostly adorable, some frightening, outfits were paraded around McGolrick Park (Driggs Avenue and Russell Street) by their owners, before waiting in line to be judged based on the merits of their costume. The result was a large assemblage of dogs sniffing each other while their owners casually chatted and flirted with each other.
This year’s theme was “Dress Your Name,” and the park was filled with dogs in black and gold bumble bee outfits, black and white jail uniforms, and lime green felt lizard costumes that resembled Kermit the Frog more than Godzilla.
This year’s winner, a pug named Sammy, captured the title based on his owner’s creative design: a Bento Box fresh from Sammy’s Asian Gourmet.
“Last year she was wonder woman, but the winner had a homemade costume,” said Aaron Thompkins, Sammy’s owner. “We were trying to think of something in common with her name. Uncle Sam was too common so Sammy came to mind. It’s her birthday today. She’s going to get spoiled later.”
Other dogs who placed include 2nd place winner Cerberus, a small dog with two other foam heads attached to its collar, 3rd place winner Eeyore, a greyhound dressed like the famous donkey from Winnie the Pooh, and honorable mentions such as Daisy, a chihuahua one of the littlest dogs in the competition, who was dressed like Amelia Earhart, complete with a leather bomber jacket and a white scarf made from gauze.
“Actually, I haven’t seen the movie yet, said Lorran Garrison, Daisy’s owner. “We wanted to be zombie versions of Little Boy and Fat Man (the bombs dropped by the Enola Gay).”
Then there was the great dane, Echo, the largest dog in the contest, who was Elvis circa 1973, wearing a white jumpsuit with silvery rhinestones and tinted aviator glasses.
“He should win in the category of ‘awesome’,” said Echo’s owner Stu. “He doesn’t need a lot of exercise. He’s more than happy to have one walk a day and curl up on the sofa with me and he’s cool.”
Ain’t nothin’ like a hound dog.