Brooklyn Heights Blog

Photos of Sunday’s Howl-o-Ween Doggie Parade via Matthew Parker and Meg & Eric.

Perfect Paws and the Friends of Hillside Dog Park held their annual Howl-o-Ween Doggie Parade today (10/25) on the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. BHB publisher Homer “Shaky Cam” Fink was there and caught the parade on video. The Phantom of the Opera was today’s overall winner and Giuseppe the airplane (and his pilot Matthew) won for best group.

We’re sure Hillside’s Matthew Parker will have more details here soon as well.

Proceeds of the parade go the the following charities:
• Friends of Hillside Dog Park
• Animal Kind, a no-kill cat shelter
• Blue Rider Stables, a therapy horse stable
• Brooklyn Animal Foster Network

More info at the Perfect Paws website.

Full list of winners at the Brooklyn Eagle.

Perfect weather predicted for the Howl-o-Ween charity costume parade, which will begin this Sunday, 1pm, at the Remsen Street entrance to the Promenade. Following the procession up the Promenade, there will be costume judging at the corner of Middagh and Columbia Heights at approximately 1:30pm.

If you and your dog will participate in the contest make sure you purchase your tax deductible entrance ticket ($25) at Perfect Paws (corner of Hicks and Pineapple Street), by Saturday afternoon. More info here.

Lots of prizes and goodies for entrants this year, including Visa gift cards, gift certificates from local restaurants, vets, and other stores.  All event proceeds go to animal-related charities.

If you just want to watch the madness, come on down–it’s free to observe. Bring the kids.  It’s a lot of fun.

As the weather gets crisper, your dog obsessed neighbors’ thoughts turn to the annual Howl-o-Ween Doggie Charity Costume Parade and Contest, organized by Perfect Paws and Friends of Hillside Dog Park.

This year, the event will be held on Sunday, October 25th at 1pm, beginning at the Remsen Street entrance to the Promenade.

It’s free to attend the parade, but if you want to enter your dog the cost is $25. All proceeds will be donated to nonprofit animal  causes, including a portion to Friends of Hillside Dog Park, Inc., which is the nonprofit that advocates for Hillside.

To the amazement and bewilderment of tourists and locals alike, the parade will march to the north end of the Promenade then cross the street at the corner of Columbia Heights and Middagh Street where a team of local celebrity judges will review the contestants starting around 2:00pm.

Fun will be had by all, including prizes and doggie bags for contestants. If you’ve participated in the past, you know what a blast it is. If you’ve never joined, come on down and have a good time.  We’ll have the usual contingent of costumed adults and kids, dolled up dogs, and drag queens.

The costumes are always imaginative and usually hysterical. It’s a fun way to spend a few hours on a Sunday afternoon in the Heights.

Following the judging and the prizes, all contestants and their humans are welcome to burn off the stress of competition at Hillside Dog Park.

Tickets are now available at Perfect Paws at 102 Hicks Street, the corner of Pineapple Street. Tel: (718) 852-6200

You must purchase your ticket at least a day before the event to register your dog.

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 55 Cranberry Street will be one of many churches in our area participating in the yearly Blessing of the Animals.  It’s all part of the Feast of St. Francis: Read more »

2009 will be a summer I remember for turning corners, metaphorically as well as literally.

In the dog-walking business, corners are places loaded with anticipation and dread. Daisy looks up to ask if we’re turning east up Clark Street, toward what I think of as Pizza Place for the food tossed in the gutters, while Pickering and Hermia look west, to Cranberry (i.e., Squirrel Street) and Hillside Park. The concrete building corners and iron fences are redolent with scents, making any corner an adventure in history, but they are also blind spots for who or what is coming our way. I often wish I had a periscope and rearview mirror when I’m out with more than one dog so I’d know if Bangor’s Akita enemy was about to intersect us or what the jingle – keys or tags – is that’s creeping up on us. Read more »

There’s movement afoot at Rowf, the specialty pet store located on Hicks and Middagh streets.

The store is having a moving sale, touting savings of 20-60 % off.

Where the store is moving, however, is still a mystery– even to the owners.

“We just found out a couple of weeks ago,” said Yuning Chiu, co-owner of Rowf. “We’re just trying to focus on moving out by the end of the month.” Read more »

It’s my greatest pleasure in life to pick up my Labs each day. They regard the whole process as another repetition of the Christmas they regard their lives as being. In general I can say that Bangor, Daisy, Farmer, Milly, Mully and Pickering – the Labs I’ve worked with most over the years – are ecstatic when I walk in. But the ways each shows its ecstasy is unique and thrilling. Read more »

The rules at Hillside are vague when it comes to the etiquette of toys – “Exercise caution with food and toys in the Park” – but the rules among the dogs are so idiosyncratic that we humans have to regulate how sharing works on a highly ad hoc basis. Read more »

(BHB/Sarah Portlock)

We got a sneak peak inside the new Tailored Pet — now named Rocco and Jezebel for Pets — before its grand opening on Saturday. They’re still setting up shop and finishing the paintwork, but some photos are posted below.

Tomorrow, doors will open at 8:30 am and owner Andrea Demetropoulos will host a party with food and drink for humans and treats for the furry ones until 6:30 pm. The shop is at 89 Pineapple Walk, between Henry Street and Cadman Plaza West. For info, call (718) 855-8686. Read more »