Tompkins Square Dog Halloween Parade 2012

Costumed dogs promenaded through Tompkins Square Park once again this past Saturday in the 22nd Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade. This year’s hot costume themes were the presidential race—including a vengeful Seamus Romney and an unemployed Big Bird—as well as space exploration and bondage bestseller 50 Shades of Gray. A woeful corgi firetruck, spunky Ms. Pacman, and dramatically posturing bat-dog were all making the rounds, as was a frightening yet cuddly Bane from The Dark Knight—which amounted to more cognitive dissonance than I’d bargained for in a puppy parade.

Throughout the usual mayhem of photographers I was on the lookout for Gracie the rescue pug, who dominated the 2010 parade as Scarlett O’Hara. She was hard to miss. Dolled up as Evita in a diaphanous gown, jeweled necklace, and blonde wig, she perched on a podium before three cardboard microphones while her owner stood by holding a miniature boombox that wailed “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.”

It was no surprise that Gracie took first place again this year. Surveying the crowd zen-like indifference, pink tongue in perma-flop, she handles the leading lady role with grande dame aplomb. As her owner mentioned, Gracie doesn’t like to move much, so it’s pretty easy to put a costume on her.

Gracie as Scarlett O’Hara in 2010

Gracie as Marie Antoinette in 2008

So start with a sedentary pug, add a tragic heroine, and apply some costume design wizardry and you have a formidable Halloween Dog Parade team. Take note, people.

Big Bird

Bane

50 Shades of Grey

Repugzel

Revenge of Seamus