spooky dog parade

Angry Birds.

Several families, and friends, marched as a thematic unit drawn from popular culture.

If  this was a tee-vee chat show, there would be some comment to the effect, “it’s official now, we have gone to the dogs”. Recently, pictures of dogs have been showing up here in these foto essays. I have asked people their dog’s names, and a lot of the animal’s names were the same as those of people. I then went to a search engine to find lists (various compilers) of the most popular names for people, dogs, and cats. The initial (and recent) lists showed the American (to a degree other English speaking countries) entries were pretty much interchangeable, with only a few in the cat’s list that would be noticeably not for people. Yet, i see shirts sold with Chairman Meow. Some of the dog’s names, that were not human names, would easily pass for nicknames (Rusty, Buddy); only Gizmo and Bandit excepted, and Gizmo was also on the cat list. And since people have surnames as first names, Murphy and Bailey pass. People also name their kids Prince, and King. In the few instances of dogs that i have posted in essays, the majority have names on the lists. I have named dogs, Lobo and Gubbio. Other names that i have considered are Iskra, Peabody, Perun. None of these names are on the lists, and none of these names would i give to a child. I am not of the mindset of most Americans.

How close a companion have hounds become? Some have Christian names. Owners are calling themselves ‘parents’. They wear clothes, or should i say, they are dressed by people. They share in our celebrations. They are with us in quiet times, and the quiet times are good. Milan Kundera has been quoted saying, “To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring — it was peace.”

 

         Lakewood Dog Park Group came from the Land of Oz, this dog did not have to acquire a heart.
There are cultures that speak of dogs badly, and treat them badly as normative. Some times, some places, dogs are food. I have always heard, the English have great fondness for hounds. Do they dress them this way too? Little girls have dogs come and drink imaginary tea (for tea parties are for little girls), and some sit there wearing bonnets listening patiently to the child’s orations.

Remember the words of good Democrats of yesteryear:

“No man can be condemned for owning a dog. As long as he has a dog, he has a friend; and the poorer he gets, the better friend he has.” — Will Rogers

“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” — Harry S. Truman

This is another event, which was brought to my attention by Lakewood Daily Snap [click]. This began for Lakewood in 2008. I do not know where Dog Hallowe’en (or is it Howl-we’en) originated. The parade stepped off at 2 o’clock. Before 12.30, tents in a nearby park were ready for the participants and visitors. Some were merchants that catered to dog owners, and some entities for the care of dogs. The rain greatly reduced attendance, but so many of the marchers took great thought in costuming.

Adopting just one greyhound won't change the world, but the world will certainly change for that one greyhound.

I hid from the constant drizzle in a couple of tents. The first was the Greyhound Adoption. These athletes’ careers last about a year, unless they are very successful. They still have lives to live. These animals need homes. They often keep their racing names, or a shortened version. I met two, o so mellow hounds, Moonie and Logan. Their personalities, bearing, and habits are very good for domestic companionship. I left wanting to get one.

Heisenberg is not Werner, nor his principle.

Now, i do not have cable television, so it takes me some time to catch up. One family unit was Barking Bad. Another family came as Duck Dynasty, Sparky was an alligator for the day, otherwise a Brittany Spaniel. In other years the family chose different rôles. Another family also came in new rôles, they were the cast from the Planet of the Apes. They were apes, and Skipper was Taylor (Charlton Heston). One family had rescue pugs. One pug was in a cooking cauldron, as in a jungle headhunter film. Pebbles was the explorer in the pot, and Yoda was a tribesman. Two dogs had no costume, other than a sign reading Streaker.

supra Sparky, infra Skipper

I took several snaps, in the park and on parade. In several shots the rain drops on the lens, liked the spot where a face would be. The paraders were jammed together, carrying umbrellas, and moving too fast to isolate individuals, and appreciate their presence.

 Molly, here, spent two hours being painted as a tiger.

 Finnegan the Irish (Setter) portrays a mediæval knight

This very darling young lady is portraying Lucille Ball, and her wee beasties are Lucy and Chico.

This lady was one of the very few, who chose a traditional character of yore. She was sought out, and willing to pose. And really, everyone i spoke to was in very good cheer.

I did not ask people their names, feeling it too intrusive. They came to have fun, not to be interrogated. I did often inquire their doggie’s name. Someone named their charge Christian, and i tried to give a quick summary of my naming thesis, but it was approaching line up time.

This is a very fun event, with very happy, and friendly people. They call it Spooky Pooch, the sixth. Very few people came in spooky dress, they came in a happy masquerade. After the parade, there was an award ceremony, which now i regret that i skipped, because i wanted too much to be warm and dry.

This year, i went to many events for the first time. This parade, and the greased pole at Rocco’s topped the fun.