This is an unpublished, original beat story written for the Reporting and Writing I class of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
The night for mischievous tricks may have passed, but a horde of Halloween costumes will be on parade to treat visitors to Brooklyn this weekend – from beautiful ballerinas to “notorious” gangster rappers and every Cinderella in between.
All you’ll have to do is look down at your feet to see them.
Dozens of four-legged friends will strut to scare at the first annual “Bed-Stuy Pet Stuy Horror Haunt,” a Halloween fashion show for dogs and other pets in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Both owners and pets will show off their originality and creativity to compete for prizes in three categories: best human/pet costume combo, scariest/weirdest pet costume and cutest pet costume.
Longtime neighborhood resident Madeline Smith said she first conceived the outing after watching Animal Planet’s television coverage of Pet Fashion Week in New York.
“I like to watch the Dog Whisperer and all those types of shows,” she said. “I thought, ‘You know something? Why can’t we do that in Brooklyn too?’ ”
Smith said she came up with the Halloween idea after a successful pet fashion show in June.
“I heard people calling people on cell phones, ‘You gotta come down here and see this!’ ” she said. “As a matter of fact, we had to start turning people away for the competition because they kept coming after it started.”
Though Smith herself doesn’t own a dog – just “a big, furry cat” – she took it upon herself to appeal to the neighborhood to support the event, which will include gift certificates, gift baskets and sing-alongs.
“I put up flyers from Fort Greene to Bed-Stuy,” she said. “I went through a bag of 250 and I’m working halfway through another bag. We’re encouraging people to come out in costume. I tell people, ‘No naked pets. Come out dressed.’ ”
Sixty-three-year-old Clinton Hill resident Barbara Abrams said she’s so excited for the event that she’s convinced her friends in the Bronx to attend.
“”I love dogs, but I don’t own a dog,” she said. “But I told all my friends that do have pets and they plan to be there.”
Abrams said her friends are dressing their dogs as skeletons, pink hooded-sweatshirt thugs and even mini-motorcycle-riding Harley Davidson bikers. It’s really all a reflection of the owners, she said.
“I think people do it because it’s an extension of themselves,” she said. “I think dogs take on people’s personalities and vice-versa. They get a kick out of an animal portraying what they can’t.”
It’s also good relief for cooped-up, “mentally abused” dogs in tiny New York City apartments, Abrams said.
“It gives them a chance to linger with other dogs,” Abrams said. “They get lonely and want that exchange.”
Bedford-Stuyvesant resident and social worker Patty Turlowicz said she’s definitely participating in the event, and has already cooked up what her two dogs – an enormous Collie/Labrador/Chow mix and a mini Chihuahua – will be for the show.
“I’m doing a Batman theme,” she said. “I’m gonna be the Joker and Sophie’s gonna be Catwoman – the Halle Berry, updated sexy version of Catwoman. Yeah, cute that she’s a dog, dress her as a cat.
“For the little one, big bat ears – for a little dog.”
Turlowicz, a lifelong New Yorker, said the breeds of dogs on the streets reflect the gentrification of the neighborhood.
“Dogs don’t have to be attack dogs,” Turlowicz said. “Just ‘cause they’re big doesn’t mean they’re nasty. They don’t just have to be for security purposes – they can be your buddy. I really don’t think it would have been possible like 10 years ago.”
In fact, petite dogs have virtually taken over Bedford-Stuyvesant streets, Turlowicz said.
“To tell you to truth, I’m seeing more little Poodles and Shih-Tzus and cute little furry dogs,” she said. “I think it is changing. It’s not just the people moving in, it’s the people that have been living here. People want to have a stylish dog.”
Smith said such change is “long overdue.”
“I want people to know that everybody in Bed-Stuy is not training Pitbulls and is not treating their dogs viciously,” she said. “People love their pets. I love my pet. They are part of the family. If people can get the opportunity to show them off, yes they will.”
At least 20 dogs are expected to stroll the catwalk, Smith said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Smith said. “In the end, just come. You’ll laugh and smile and have a good time. That’s what I want. To get people to look at pets and animal education.”
And as for a dog?
“This has made me so tempted to get a dog,” Smith said, chuckling. “I grew up with dogs, we always had a dog. I don’t know how my cat is going to react. I don’t think it’s going to work.”
The event will be held in Fulton Park this Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m.
On Halloween, a four-legged fright in Bedford-Stuyvesant
This is an unpublished, original beat story written for the Reporting and Writing I class of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
The night for mischievous tricks may have passed, but a horde of Halloween costumes will be on parade to treat visitors to Brooklyn this weekend – from beautiful ballerinas to “notorious” gangster rappers and every Cinderella in between.
All you’ll have to do is look down at your feet to see them.
Dozens of four-legged friends will strut to scare at the first annual “Bed-Stuy Pet Stuy Horror Haunt,” a Halloween fashion show for dogs and other pets in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Both owners and pets will show off their originality and creativity to compete for prizes in three categories: best human/pet costume combo, scariest/weirdest pet costume and cutest pet costume.
Longtime neighborhood resident Madeline Smith said she first conceived the outing after watching Animal Planet’s television coverage of Pet Fashion Week in New York.
“I like to watch the Dog Whisperer and all those types of shows,” she said. “I thought, ‘You know something? Why can’t we do that in Brooklyn too?’ ”
Smith said she came up with the Halloween idea after a successful pet fashion show in June.
“I heard people calling people on cell phones, ‘You gotta come down here and see this!’ ” she said. “As a matter of fact, we had to start turning people away for the competition because they kept coming after it started.”
Though Smith herself doesn’t own a dog – just “a big, furry cat” – she took it upon herself to appeal to the neighborhood to support the event, which will include gift certificates, gift baskets and sing-alongs.
“I put up flyers from Fort Greene to Bed-Stuy,” she said. “I went through a bag of 250 and I’m working halfway through another bag. We’re encouraging people to come out in costume. I tell people, ‘No naked pets. Come out dressed.’ ”
Sixty-three-year-old Clinton Hill resident Barbara Abrams said she’s so excited for the event that she’s convinced her friends in the Bronx to attend.
“”I love dogs, but I don’t own a dog,” she said. “But I told all my friends that do have pets and they plan to be there.”
Abrams said her friends are dressing their dogs as skeletons, pink hooded-sweatshirt thugs and even mini-motorcycle-riding Harley Davidson bikers. It’s really all a reflection of the owners, she said.
“I think people do it because it’s an extension of themselves,” she said. “I think dogs take on people’s personalities and vice-versa. They get a kick out of an animal portraying what they can’t.”
It’s also good relief for cooped-up, “mentally abused” dogs in tiny New York City apartments, Abrams said.
“It gives them a chance to linger with other dogs,” Abrams said. “They get lonely and want that exchange.”
Bedford-Stuyvesant resident and social worker Patty Turlowicz said she’s definitely participating in the event, and has already cooked up what her two dogs – an enormous Collie/Labrador/Chow mix and a mini Chihuahua – will be for the show.
“I’m doing a Batman theme,” she said. “I’m gonna be the Joker and Sophie’s gonna be Catwoman – the Halle Berry, updated sexy version of Catwoman. Yeah, cute that she’s a dog, dress her as a cat.
“For the little one, big bat ears – for a little dog.”
Turlowicz, a lifelong New Yorker, said the breeds of dogs on the streets reflect the gentrification of the neighborhood.
“Dogs don’t have to be attack dogs,” Turlowicz said. “Just ‘cause they’re big doesn’t mean they’re nasty. They don’t just have to be for security purposes – they can be your buddy. I really don’t think it would have been possible like 10 years ago.”
In fact, petite dogs have virtually taken over Bedford-Stuyvesant streets, Turlowicz said.
“To tell you to truth, I’m seeing more little Poodles and Shih-Tzus and cute little furry dogs,” she said. “I think it is changing. It’s not just the people moving in, it’s the people that have been living here. People want to have a stylish dog.”
Smith said such change is “long overdue.”
“I want people to know that everybody in Bed-Stuy is not training Pitbulls and is not treating their dogs viciously,” she said. “People love their pets. I love my pet. They are part of the family. If people can get the opportunity to show them off, yes they will.”
At least 20 dogs are expected to stroll the catwalk, Smith said.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Smith said. “In the end, just come. You’ll laugh and smile and have a good time. That’s what I want. To get people to look at pets and animal education.”
And as for a dog?
“This has made me so tempted to get a dog,” Smith said, chuckling. “I grew up with dogs, we always had a dog. I don’t know how my cat is going to react. I don’t think it’s going to work.”
The event will be held in Fulton Park this Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m.