Halloween Fundraising Parade for Pooches
-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on November 4, 2021.
Saturday’s “Howl-O’Ween Pooches on Parade” was a collaboration between the Floyd County Girl Scout Troop and The Floyd County Human Society for the benefit of the FCHS’s building fund.
FCHS president Patrice Irish said the society had acquired land with a house on it but that they needed to build an animal shelter.
As many as eighteen dog owners paid $5 to register their dogs for the first-time event. $10 raffle tickets for t-shirts and gift certificates donated by local businesses were part of the fundraising.
“We didn’t even know this was going on,” said a woman from Roanoke with her harlequin Great Dane named Lucy. “We just came for lunch and someone said ‘your dog needs to do this.’ They paraded as Cruella and her Dalmatian.
Following the parade – which started at The Warren Lineberry Memorial Park, went down Locust Street, past the Courthouse and briefly on Main Street – owners brought their dogs up to the park stage, one by one, as the emcee called out their registration numbers and the names of their dogs.
There was Ringo the Dapper Dog, Watson the Robin Hood dog, a small black dog dressed as a spider and more.
Some owners dressed in coordination with their dogs: a witch and her familiar black poodle, a bumblebee and her flower.
Out of three contenders, Rajah the tiger won The People’s Choice Award, determined by audience applause.
Rajah’s (Aka Luna) family who paraded with her included Rowan Chantal as Aladdin, Kaitlin Chantal as Princess Jasmine and young Allister Chantal as Abu the monkey. _________Colleen Redman
