Halloween Dog Parade turns into a real howl
Lots of doggone fun at annual costumed event for pooches
Halloween in New York is terrifying. Haunted houses pop up throughout the five boroughs, subway cars swell with all kinds of characters and, scariest of all, interminable lines for parties snake around city blocks.
But the week leading up to Halloween in New York? Adorable. This year, the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade drew 500 canines and an estimated 25,000 humans to the East Village.
Dianne Ferrer stayed up “until the wee hours of the morning” constructing a New York Sightseeing bus for her four French bulldogs: Harley, Baby, Dakota and Gus.
“They’re French tourists because they’re Frenchies,” she said. “We had to rent a truck to bring it because it wouldn’t fit in my SUV.”
Friends Diana Lucchi and Asha Vereen built a saltwater aquarium for their three dogs, who took home first place in the costume competition: Giupetto, as an angelfish, Gianna, as a lionfish, and Penelope, as a clown fish.
Finn and Boo dressed as the “Woofs” of Wall Street.
A Pomeranian made for a tiny interpretation of King Tut.
Macaroon and his owner, Holly Tooker, are regulars at the dog parade. This time around, he came as the “Brown-Eyed Grill” to her veggie-skewering chef.
“Last year he was the Basket of Adorables,” Tooker said. “He’s been a pincushion, a stick of butter, a taco, a box of tissues — I was the Ebola lady — a Hershey’s Kiss and a bag of money.”
Does he enjoy getting dressed up?
“No, but he does like roast beef,” she said before giving him a treat.
Mogley and his owner Maggie Hayes made the trek downtown from their Upper East Side apartment to show off his costume.
“He’s super-chill about it,” she said. “He likes to be dressed up.”
Chloe Kardoggian came dressed as Cougar Barbie, complete with a set of Ken doll conquests.
Tuck and Lola were dressed as Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears at the 2001 American Music Awards. Their owner, Morgan DeBois, described the denim-on-denim look as an “iconic” red carpet moment.
Milo came as Waldo of “Where’s Waldo?” fame.
Sammy balanced a diorama of the High Line on his back.
“They’re actually not allowed, which is kind of funny,” Danielle DeOrsey, his owner, said of the elevated park’s pet policy.
Pip the Yorkie was dressed as Amelia Doghart.
Kiedis and Raquel Torres wore matching cotton-candy costumes.
“I saw on Pinterest someone had something similar, but not their dog — it was just them,” Torres said. “It’s so difficult to find an original one online.”
“Oscar is a Lower East Side boy,” said his owner, Rick Van Benschoten. “In 2010, he was abandoned on Delancey Street under the Williamsburg Bridge. He was already paralyzed. He was just dragging himself on the street.”
Van Benschoten and his wife, Christian Merry, met Oscar at their veterinarian’s office and fell immediately in love. Since his adoption, he’s been a regular at the dog parade.
“He’s always representing animal rescue in general, he’s always representing special-needs dogs,” Van Benschoten said, “and this year, as an astronaut on a lunar mission, he’s also representing science, because it could really use our help right now.”
April Moon was dressed as Cruhuahua de Vil, and Summer Strand as Crumama.
“We’re 101 Glamatians,” Strand said.
Duchess the Corgi was dressed as a Chia Pet. Lily appeared at the parade in full-peacock form.
ZZ was no stranger to the spotlight. She’s walked runways at New York Fashion Week and in Palm Springs, and appeared at countless charity events. Her owner, Ilene Zeins, describes herself as “a real stage mom” and blogs on ZZ’s behalf.
“I’m like the Joan Rivers of the dog community,” Zeins said.