Howl’oween Is For The Dogs

When I decided to spend Halloween in Los Angeles over New York, I had one major motivation. Yes, memories of cold, rainy nights in a damp costume certainly dissuaded me from my East Coast option. But Los Angeles? Los Angeles had Tucker. Game over.

Tucker has always been pretty down for dress up time — or perhaps he’s just learned to humor us after a lifetime of it. Easter? We’ve got a pair of bunny ears on him. Graduation? He needs a cap and gown too! Prom? Don’t worry, I got rush shipping on the cocker spaniel tuxedo I ordered.

So it always really burned at me that we rarely got to spent Halloween together anymore. When I was living in Brooklyn I used to go to the Tompkins Square Park Dog Parade, but I’d always leave wistful that I didn’t have my own little man with me. (Wondering where I find all these events? Bring Fido is my go-to — and no, they are sadly not a sponsor of Alex in Wanderland, at least not anywhere other than my dreams.)

Hence, I was more than willing to plan my Los Angeles weekend around attending the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade in Long Beach. Tucker was pumped.

We went for a sea creature costume theme, inspired by an old lobster costume Tucker had lying around and a pair of gold mermaid legging I’d recently purchased. I spruced up Tucker’s look by dying the lobster suit a more sophisticated color and adding some painted shell eyes, while a trip to the local craft store whipped me into a frenzy of spray paint, shells, hot glue and inspiration for our human ensembles.

Honestly, I thought we were looking pretty cute, but little did I know we were amateur hour compared to the creative canines that were about to strut their stuff. My friends Lindsay and Asher had joined my dad and I for this fabulous furry day, and so we’d all decided that rather than walk in the parade, we’d instead snag front row seats and enjoy being spectators. Seats are $10 in advance or $5 on the day of, if there are any left. Dog registration runs $10 per dog in advance, $20 on the day, and $35 for Very Important Pooch registration. Best of all? It’s all a fundraiser for a local animal non-profit!

We settled in and got ready to be wowed.

And dang, were we ever. I can’t believe the creativity and energy that went into some of these costumes! It made me so heartwarmed and happy to think of families and friends and fluff-balls all hanging out, dreaming up and bringing to life these lovely creations.

The Frenchie Fries, above, was one of my favorites of the day! I absolutely adored watching Tucker watch the parade — he was so alert and attentive, carefully watching each and every group go by. Nine out of ten he’d just track with his eyes, but then every so often he’d burst up out of his seat to go wag at and sniff a dog walking by in the parade. It was so sweet!

Isn’t it amazing what a fabulous job these women in the purple did dressing their dog up as a chicken? It’s uncanny! (In case you’re reading this on a phone or other tiny device, I’ll just go ahead and explain the joke: it’s not a dog. It’s an actual chicken. That is, for better or for worse, all the information I have.)

It was fun to watch some of the themes emerge. We saw many costumes based on Star Wars, several inspired by the show Stranger Things, and quite a few riffing on the (then) upcoming election. Angelenos are a creative bunch!

I have to give kudos to the organizers of the event, it was awesome to really be able to get a good view of the costumes and the adorable pups! The parade route was long and winding and lined with a row on each side of official seating, and onlookers were welcome to bring their own chairs to set up behind those, or just to stand and watch. There was quite a crowd, and it didn’t look like anyone was straining to see.

With over 400 dressed up dogs, they claim to be the largest Halloween pet event in the world!

I couldn’t help but whoop for the above costume, inspired by the Dia de los Muertos celebration I’d attended the night before! They would have fit right in.

Pupperoni pizza? Sign me up for a slice!

And even more Dia de los Muertos fun — you definitely feel the Latin American influence in Los Angeles.

And how cute is this mother daughter pair? My heart melted!

However, there’s only one group that can take home the ultimate grand prize, which in this case was a year’s supply of dog food. And from the moment we lay eyes on them, we knew who it would be.

Behold, The Boston (Terrier) Tea Party. I salute these fabulous patriots for creating a masterpiece.

However, I think if the Baackes family ran the voting committee there’s no question who would have won. In our hearts, the Cutest Dog Around Competition will always be no contest.

After the parade, we spent an hour or so wandering around the various vendors (pet photographers, pet psychics and organic vegan dog treat makers were all present) and contemplating adopting a rescue puppy, and eventually capped off the day with cheap tacos nearby. While we’d sadly missed the big pumpkin drop due to our late arrival, we definitely feel we made the most of the day otherwise.

And I have to admit, the day started as a total disaster. We were late. We brought the wrong dog collar. The masks I made started to fall apart. My phone was dying. I was running late (as usual) and underestimated how much time I needed to get ready (as usual) and ended up running out the door in a complete frenzy with my hair half crimped, planning to finish it in the car, a plan that was crushed when the mobile outlet wouldn’t turn on.

Thankfully my dad has survived raising four daughters so it’s probably not the first time he’s been stuck in the car with one of us having a mental breakdown over having a half-crimped, half-straight head of hair, having packed incorrectly, and beating ourselves up over why we can’t be on time to anything in our dang lives even things that are important to us and we weren’t even doing anything significant anyway before we left! Ah, family.

But all is well that ends well, right?

The next day was actual Halloween, and the day of the big West Hollywood parade that had inspired me to be in Los Angeles in the first place. All day, I planned to go. But I’d been feeling extremely overwhelmed and frazzled by work, and just having one of those weeks where I felt I was half-assing everything. And so rather than half-ass one more event, I made a last minute call to stay home and have one low-key last night at home with my dad and Tucker before flying back to New York.

We put Tucker in his back-up hot dog costume to bark at Trick or Treaters, and agreed that we’d really had all the Halloween fun we’d needed to over the weekend, anyway.

In short, I think Los Angeles may be my new Halloween home base from here forward! Between Dia de Los Muertos, Howl’oween, and the promise of someday — in a less frazzled state — attending the West Hollywood Parade, I don’t think I could imagine anywhere better to be. My dad and I have already started brainstorming ideas for our next set of costumes.

Any ideas? Leave them in the comments!

Aside from Tucker (duh!), who would you give the Howl’oween grand prize to?