By Emmy Gagnier
July Fourth is the day to dress up your pets, as seen in Downtown Bend on Tuesday at the annual Pet Parade – a Bend tradition since 1924.
There were tons of amazing outfits and decorated wagons. Everything from hats to bananas, wings, capes, crowns, glasses, headbands, flags, bows, earrings and more. For the parade, people can kept it simple or added a little flare. Aly, a 3-year-old dog, had her name superglued to a flag on her back. Along with her was 6-year-old Jesse, who had a stuffed cowboy riding on his back.
The morning was so hot, some kept it light. Gipper, a light-colored 9-year-old fur ball, had hair dyed like the American flag with Manic Panic hair dye. Scarlet, an 11-year-old dog, was decorated similarly, but with paint. One social butterfly named Stella was wearing her patriotic wings, and many other pets had decorated leashes and little hats.
A few really stood out from the crowd. One of whom was Amy and her dog Annie. Annie is a 9-year-old red toy Labrador rescue. She is a parade lover! The two have been to parades all over together and recently moved to Bend. Wearing a huge hat, riding a decorated bike attached to Annie’s decorated wagon, Amy and Annie were a sight to see.
As much as Bend loves dogs, it is a pet parade, and there were some “odds and ends,” as the parade organizers referred to them. This included goats, horses, hamsters, bearded dragons, snakes and chickens. Sadie, a mini Nubian goat who’s only a couple of months old, rocked it with a hat and scarf. Three-year-old Caramel, a chicken, had her cage decorated by four young owners. This chicken’s designers were 10-year-old Charlotte, 11-year-old Mavis, 8-year-old Rory, and 8-year-old Aidan. With some tassels and mini flags they made a black cage red, white and blue.
Falcore and Mojo didn’t even have to dress up, instead impressing all with their own flair. A 7-year-old bearded dragon, Falcore rode on a skateboard, pulled by Mojo. Mojo is a 4-year-old snake who spent its ride wrapped around a leash connected to the skateboard.
While most pets stuck to red white and blue, there were some that went out of the box. There were dogs dressed up as Wonder Woman, Superman, Captain America, Halloween, mermaids, bees and princesses. Bringing some winter fun were the ski dogs, who had on the cutest goggles.
Marla is a 2-year-old dog wearing an Army vest for her first parade in four years. The vest was inspired by her owner, Bret, who served for seven years in the Army. Bret put some of his own patches on the vest. After four years, the duo said they want to make this parade a tradition.
