Dogs put their best paw forward for Woof show
Tails were wagging at the Auckland Pride Festival on Sunday afternoon, as hundreds gathered for the ‘Woof’ dog show.
The show was part of the annual festival, celebrating Auckland’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA) communities.
Punters and pooches sat on the banks of Western Park to watch as the fluffy and fabulous took to the catwalk, competing for the top spot.
Categories included Most Butch, Most Femme, Best Dressed, Best Dog/Owner Lookalike, Biggest and Smallest dogs, Best Talent or Trick and Best in Show.
Thirteen-year-old Lexi Eddington entered the ownerdog lookalike competition with her cavoodle, Red.
Lexi committed to the cause despite the heat and humidity, donning a full-body dog costume.
The duo hadn’t been to Woof before, but were having a lot of fun, she said.
‘‘There’s a quite a few cute costumes here, so it’s hard to know if we’ll win’’, but it was cool to just be out and play with other dogs, Lexi said.
Former reality TV housewife and self-proclaimed cat lover Anne Batley Burton sat on the judge’s panel.
Batley Burton said she had her eyes peeled for a flirtatious little dog who could command the catwalk.
To stand out in the Best Femme category the dog had to be cute, pretty and flirtatious, she said, and she wanted a ‘‘real macho’’ dog to take out Most Butch.
Other celebrity judges included British television personality Ian Towning, Shortland Street actress Lucy Lovegrove, drag queen Arabia Le Veil and Labour MP Louisa Wall.
The Auckland Pride Festival has celebrated the city’s LGBTQIA community through a number of different events over three weeks.
Alongside Woof, Auckland’s Pride Festival put on the Great Auckland Pride Debate pitting Labour MP Jacinda Ardern against Auckland Councillor Richard Hills.
It was also been behind Ending HIV Big Gay Out, Samesame But Different Literary Festival, and the Aroha ‘17 Film Festival.
This Saturday the Pride Parade will take place at 7.30pm along Ponsonby Rd.
This is the fifth year the Pride Festival has been put on.