The Battle Ground Parks and Recreation Department will host its first ever “Pooch Parade” event on Oct. 27, which will feature a costume contest.
For those who love to dress up their canine companion, it’ll be their moment to shine as the event will feature prizes for the best dressed.
Alisha Smith, the communications manager for the City of Battle Ground, said the grand marshal at the parade will be K9 officer Charlie and his handler officer Clint Fraser.
“They’ll be there as part of the event to kind of do an informal … kicking things off,” Smith said. “Obviously, Charlie’s not going to say much, but we wanted to have him there to just kind of start off the event, and then also be there for anybody who wants to meet him and his less popular partner, of course.”
Charlie is a 3-year-old German shepherd. The dog and Fraser have been a certified dog team for the past two and a half years, Smith said.
“We had him at National Night Out. I was there watching a little 3-year-old feeding him Doritos, which I don’t think is part of his official diet, but he absolutely enjoyed it,” Smith said with a laugh.
The city started the Pooch Parade to give more exposure to pets and their owners in the community.
“This is something that the parks and recreation department wanted to bring forth, one to kind of give extra fun to the holiday season, but also bring together folks who just love their dogs,” Smith said. “(It’s) a great opportunity to show off the canine residents of the city.”
The event is also open to neighboring communities besides Battle Ground. Smith said there has been a lot of interest via social media, both from dog owners and people who want to come and watch. The city’s parks engagement board was also involved in spreading the word as they handed out flyers to local veterinary clinics and dog groomers. Wilco is also a sponsor. A $100 gift card to the store will be handed out as a prize. The other sponsors are Alder Creek Veterinary Clinic, VCA Battle Ground and All Natural Pet Supply, who will all hand out gift baskets as prizes.
Smith said the dogs will be judged on best in show, best duo, most unique and people’s choice. The judges will include Mayor Philip Johnson, Bev Jones from the Lion’s Club, Marilyn Schweizer from Main Street Floral Company, and John Idsinga. Since people’s choice is ambiguous, she said the judges will pick the winner based on the reaction of the audience.
In addition to the festivities, the event will play a variety of dog-related songs like “Who Let the Dogs Out” and “Bad to the Bone,” Smith said.
The event will be held at 6 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the Battle Ground Community Center at 912 E. Main St. For more information, go online to the city’s website at cityofbg.org.
