24th Annual Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade

I went to the Halloween Dog Parade in the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run yesterday to check out all the adorable dogs in costumes. I should have guessed when I saw that they've been doing it for 24 (!) years that it would be crazy, but I was completely overwhelmed by the crush of people and dogs.

Of course, since it's New York City, most of the dogs were pretty small. There were many, many chihuahuas. There was only one little ram, but he was so cute, I drew him from a few different angles, until Mr. Bumblebee there got in the way.

I loved this dog's costume because it was so understated. The guy clearly had to go out and buy some dog shoes, but the rest of it was just kids clothes and beats headphones. And he looked great!

Again, this golden retriever's costume was simple, but made great use of a transparent cone. Bonus points for involving booze.

Disney princesses and Pixar characters were popular.

Of course, superheroes are perennial favorites.
These two were having some kind of conversation.

Wonder Woman, from the back, and taking a load off.

A few miscellaneous ones. What is this first one? A handsome fellow with a leather jacket and a white scarf. Anyone out there have any ideas?

A lot of people dressed up with their dogs, and this seemed to be one way to get into the honorable mentions or to show or place. The other way was to build a whole set for your dog(s). Gomez and Morticia Addams were there, with Thing perched on Gomez's shoulder. You could barely see their dog under his long wig and hat because he was Cousin It.

This Princess Leia and Jedi had built a whole Ewok village for their little Ewok.

Another dog you could barely see under her costume: a blue dress and blonde wig. The give away were the dragons perched on her (and the big dragon carrying her). Khaleesi!

There was another Khaleesi there with Khal Drogo, carried by one of his bloodriders. Unfortunately, I couldn't get around to the other side, so you only get the bloodrider holding his little Khal Drogo.

This one was the runner up, and I have to say, I thought it was one of the best. Full makeup, props, and a lot of skulls.

The winner was the Titanic complete with, well, the Titanic! Three dogs dressed to the nines pushed by a very proud captain.

I had my personal favorites, though. I think Barking Bad was pretty genius. The big dog was the RV and the little dog was Walter White. Their human was dressed in the yellow hoodie, so I guess he was Jesse Pinkman.

This couple went all out also. They were dressed as mushrooms and were carting their little caterpillar around in a little garden. When it came time for their presentation to the judges, the caterpillar transformed into a butterfly!

And there was even a sneaky cat (!!) disguised as, guess what? A dog!

And, last but in no way least, a little Yorkie chia pet. The owner told me that his wife and her mother had made the costume themselves. I love a DIY costume!

Mostly, I was impressed by how patient all the dogs were. They don't care about dressing up, or winning a contest. They just want to make us happy. And if we tell them they have to put on something uncomfortable, or perch on a toy horse (I missed that one, but he was there), they're willing to do it for us. I mean, look at how happy this
dog is:

If you can't get enough dogs in costume, go check out my friend Carly Larsson's hilarious blogpost on the Fort Greene Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest.