After a countdown, a spray of confetti kicks off the 36th annual Halloween dog parade in Tompkins Square Park on Oct. 17.After a countdown, a spray of confetti kicks off the 36th annual Halloween dog parade in Tompkins Square Park on Oct. 17. Photo: Caroline Sommers
Debbie Doll nestles her shih tzu pup, Snickers, wearing a jersey boasting “Knicks in Five” inside a giant basketball that landed first place in the costume contest at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade.
Debbie Doll nestles her shih tzu pup, Snickers, wearing a jersey boasting “Knicks in Five” inside a giant basketball that landed first place in the costume contest at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade.
Debbie Doll nestles her shih tzu pup, Snickers, wearing a jersey boasting “Knicks in Five” inside a giant basketball that landed first place in the costume contest at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. Photo: Caroline Sommers
A dog dressed as a Formula 1 driver at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on Saturday, Oct. 17.
A dog dressed as a Formula 1 driver at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on Saturday, Oct. 17.
A dog dressed as a Formula 1 driver at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade on Saturday, Oct. 17. Photo: Caroline Sommers
There was a resurgence of Knicks fever at the annual Halloween dog parade at Tompkins Square Park on Saturday, Oct. 17 as the team’s blue and orange uniforms were refashioned for many a pooch.
The winner of the parade’s costume contest was a small black and white Shih Tzu named Snickers dressed as Jalen Brunson with a “Knicks in Five” jersey sitting atop a mini-court in a giant, hollowed-out ball.
His owner, Debbie Doll, dressed as a cheerleader with a tight fitting Knicks tee, said as soon as her beloved team clinched the championship in June, she got the idea for the costume. Following the win, she told Straus Media that she and Snickers “are feeling so grateful and honored and just happy to be together!”
Despite the chilly weather, there were good vibes all around as thousands braved the cold, gray weather to honor our city and keep the Knicks mania going at the world’s largest dog parade. (It really is!)
“Knicks in Five” had some serious competition. Hundreds of dogs, some in elaborate costumes, converted Avenue B into a four-legged fashion show. It wasn’t only that they were dressed as Formula 1 race car drivers, hipster DJs, museum exhibits, Super Marios or mini-PacMans, it was more about the contraptions their owners constructed to contain the pups.
Some were homemade; others, like the Popemobile in which a canine “Pup Leo” was traveling, were store-bought. "It’s a Fiat, we figured Italian, that works,” said Zoe Cuddy, the pope’s owner, who lives uptown near Gracie Mansion. “And then we got him his costume and his name is Leo, so it all kind of came together.”
Asked why dog owners put in so much time, effort and in some cases, money, for this annual event, Cuddy answered, “We do it because we’re New Yorkers, and when there’s an event that brings New Yorkers together, I think everybody makes a huge effort to show up like New Yorkers, which is big and proud and loud.
“This is our Super Bowl for the dogs,” said Montina Hardesty, who was carrying an oversized box of faux chocolate truffles. Upon closer inspection, one of them turned out to be Chimi, a six-year-old Chihuahua, rescued from a dumpster in Texas. Now she has a loving home with Hardesty, who explained, “Everybody’s so excited to go all out. I really think it’s because dogs are like our family. They’re like our children now.”
Thousands of spectators lined Avenue B. The lucky ones, near the starting point at East 11th Street, caught a glimpse of an A-list couple, singer John Legend and model Chrissy Teigen, whose dog food brand, Kismet, was a key sponsor of the event. They both took the mic and addressed the crowd. Legend went first. "We’re so excited to be here today, so many beautiful dogs, so many great costumes, so many beautiful humans...and we love New York, we’re so happy to be here.”
“We’re so happy to be back in New York,” continued Teigen. “John and I are hard East Villagers, we love it to our core.” Next to them stood Fern Watt, founder of New York Dog Parade, dressed as a drum majorette. Prior to founding the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Watt worked in the dog space for 10 years as a writer and creative, and she used to volunteer for this event. When the parade faced cancellation due to permitting hurdles and logistical costs due to exploding interest, she stepped up in 2025 to save it, founding the organization, working with city agencies and securing corporate funding. Her rescue dog, Oscar, a giant Labradoodle dressed in a matching outfit, was by her side the whole time.”
“Five, four, three, two, one! Happy Halloween!” they counted down to a carefully curated soundtrack for the parade that included Tubular Bells (more commonly known as the theme from The Exorcist), Thriller, I Put a Spell on You, Monster Mash, Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Puttin’ on the Ritz, and a host of other creepy songs appropriate for the occasion. As the pampered pooches strutted their stuff down Avenue B, a select few were chosen to participate in the parade’s costume contest. At 7th Street, those lucky dogs and their owners were funneled into Tompkins Square Park, where a runway and stage, which would ordinarily have been called a catwalk but obviously not today, awaited them.
Dan Schachner, who many may recognize as the official referee for Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl, returned to host the main costume runway event in the park. He’d obviously collected entertaining information about each finalist prior to the contest. Like Shannon Aronson’s 140-pound Bernedoodle, da Vinci, who was dressed as “King Kong da Vinci,” complete with a homemade replica of the Empire State Building. Before the contest, Aronson told Straus Media, “He’s so big, nothing fits him, so it took me about a month and a half to get everything together.”
During the competition, Schachner added that da Vinci wore a men’s XL. Introducing another dog, Schachner stated that one interesting fact was that “He hates people.” The three finalists were “Marie Antoinette,” an all-pink getup on wheels adorned with a giant cake, a guillotine, and a sign reading “Let me eat cake,”; a dog encased in a wheel of brie amidst a giant charcuterie board; and the aforementioned “Knicks in Five,” which ultimately took first prize, winning $1K worth of dog swag.
So why do dog owners do it? RJ Cabral, who was dressed as a giant papier-mâché egg along with his eight-year-old rescue pup Max, who was dressed as a chicken, may have put it best: “I have no idea, I’m a crazy person.”(Finally, a Straus Media exclusive: Cabral confirmed that the chicken came first.)