OCEAN CITY – The Ocean City boardwalk was packed Saturday afternoon with a happy horde of people, many of them dressed up in costumes, all accompanying the stars of the day – their dogs.
Some of the humans on their stroll during Ocean City’s inaugural Howl-O-Ween parade and contest sponsored by the Humane Society of Ocean City clearly enjoyed being dressed up more than their dogs.
Kris DiPalermo and Liz Schofield of Sewell had their beagle, Baxter, dressed as a taco. Schofield said she knows Baxter loves to get dressed up. “He started jumping around as soon as we got out the costume this morning,” she said. DiPalermo credited the dog’s excitement with the type of costume. “He loves anything food related.”
Jane Farina of Ocean City was holding a pair of dogs, Margot and Simona, both rescues. Friend Lynne Lewis was by their side. “They don’t mind at all” being dressed up, Farina said. “They like the paparazzi too.”
“That’s why they’re not biting you,” Lewis added. True to their word, her two little dogs were completely at ease in front of the camera.
Christina Ballas, wearing a pumpkin hat, and her dog Charlie, both of Wilmington, Del., came to Ocean City specifically for the Howl-O-Ween event. (Ballas said she also was visiting her parents. “They were like, ‘Come on down!’”) She said Charlie doesn’t mind being dressed up or toted in a wagon.
“He likes it, look. He loves it. It doesn’t bother him,” she said. Charlie was totally relaxed, moving his head slightly only so he could lick his owner on the cheek. Ballas noted she couldn’t fit Charlie’s ears through the holes in the costume but it stayed on his head anyway. “He likes his little stroller too.”
Jill Rauf of Dennsville and her dog Bandit were both dressed as jailbirds.
“He seems to like it today,” she said of the dog-sized outfit. “He knows he’s going to get some treats.” As for her pooch’s name being appropriate for the costume, she laughed. “He’s been in a lot of trouble lately.”
Nina Mazzarelli was with her dog, Marty, wearing a Minion costume. “He loves being dressed up,” she said. “We are from West Chester, Pa., but we have a home down here.”
Jennifer Miller of Galloway had her dog costumed as an ear of corn.
“She’s a corndog,” Miller said, smiling. She comes to Ocean City often and thought the parade was a great excuse for another visit.
Jessica Jones, Len Jones and Ayani Torres of Mays Landing said their dog Autumn was renamed Yoshi Dog for the day because they were all dressed up as characters from the “Mario” video game series.
“She’s Mario’s little dragon that he rides all the time,” Len explained. Jessica was wearing a Donkey Kong outfit, Len was dressed as Mario and Ayani was Luigi.
So who enjoys getting dressed up more? Len turned to Jessica. “What do you think, JJ?”
“We do,” she laughed. “It gives us an excuse,” Len added. “We kind of went for it.”
Trinity Jagdeo of Vineland used her artistic skills to help Kenai, wearing a wetsuit and accompanied by a miniature surfboard that Jagdeo painted the night before with popular attractions from Ocean City.
“I got the community on the Facebook page to tell me what the staple of Ocean City is for them and I combined what everybody said,” Jagdeo said. And then they drilled a few holes in the board and attached it to an old skateboard.
The surfboard featured scenes including a Ferris wheel, lifeguard boat and stand, a banner plane and multiple boardwalk shops.
Allison Prokson of Dorchester, looking very much like Daphne, was hanging onto Remmi, obviously Scooby Doo. Although Remmi wasn’t wearing a full outfit, Allison pointed out he did have his Scooby tags. With them was Colin Prokson, dressed like Fred, and Heather Jarvis, (alter ego Velma) who had Ash on a leash, dressed in a shirt and long pants. She made the outfit. “It’s actually toddler clothes from Good Will that I sewed together,” she said.
Ash is a registered therapy dog. “He’s new, so he’s kind of whiny still, but he doesn’t mind being dressed up.” Just in case, she had a box of Scooby snacks at the ready.
“He’s a s’more and I’m a bonfire,” said Kelsey Winter of Waterford Works who was walking with her dog happily sandwiched between faux graham crackers and a pillow-like marshmallow. “And I’m a jackass,” added Bryan Weiderspahn, who actually looked more like a scarecrow.
A fully outfitted pirate crew was on the boardwalk with a pair of rescued Rottweilers, who didn’t seem to mind their outfits. Kathie Coppenbarger and husband Frank were with Caleb and the dogs, Rosie and Lexie. So who enjoys dressing up more? “Definitely me,” Kathie laughed. “And they’re just participating today. They’ll all be rewarded with either dog treats or ice cream.” Caleb was definitely looking forward to the ice cream.
Mary O’Dowd and Matt Glogau of Egg Harbor Township were with their dog, Scoot, who had a harness and wheels to assist his hind legs. This was no Toto. Walking with Mary, who looked like the Scarecrow, and Matt, in his Tin Man outfit, Scoot had a lion’s mane to make him the Cowardly Lion, who actually looked pretty brave. “We adopted him. He’s from Alabama,” Mary said. “We don’t know what happened to him, if he was in an accident or if he was born like this, but we adopted him wheels and all. He’s the happiest dude in the world. He’s handicapable. He doesn’t know he is handicapped.”
Michael Nessly and Betsy Marple were dressed for the next launch into space. They had a pair of rockets with them, Maudie, who will be 8 in November, and Mazie, who will be 4. Maudie’s dad is Mazie’s granddad, so she’s Aunt Maude, they said. Betsy admitted she liked dressing up more than the dogs. “I do,” she laughed. “I love it. I think this is fantastic. We love it here. We love Ocean City.” They are from Upper Gwynedd, Pa., but have a home in the resort.
“Definitely me,” Aida Pleho said about who prefers dressing up more, she or her dog Lucky. “He’s not too happy. He’s a little hot.” With them was Tyler Mevoglioni, who said dressing up “is part of the fun. It’s all in good spirits. You have to have fun with it.”
If the dog was a little hot, Aida and Tyler had to be hotter. They were wearing fuzzy full-body costumes of the Disney cartoon character Stitch, complete with hoods. (No feetsies, though.) That was more fitting for a cold winter night than the warm sunny afternoon on the boardwalk.
Lilly Stansbury and Joanie Stofanick of Cape May Court House were dressed as scarecrows with their little dog, Gracie, in a wagon labeled “Farm Fresh Pumpkins.”
One big group of dog lovers included Mary Agnes McPeak with her dog Mickey; Jacqueline Williams and her mom Casie with their dog Sally; Kateri Williams and Andrew Williams of Somers Point with superhero dog Mazey; and June Peterson with her bat dog, Jeep. “She was found under a Jeep, so they named her Jeep,” June said. “That’s how she got it.” Jeep is a rescue.
Obvious Star Wars fans Andrea Saksek of Cheltenham, Pa., and Julia Koziel of Berwick, Pa., dressed as Rey and Obi-Wan Kenobi, were carting their two dogs, dressed a C3PO and Yoda, in a wagon in the parade.
Santa Paws Gizmo was with her owner, Stacy Tyler of Gouldtown, a little community between Millville and Bridgeton. “If you blink, you miss it,” she said. Gizmo isn’t exactly a fan of costumes. “Not really,” Tyler said. “I think we like it more than he does.” She balances that by letting her dog ride in a wagon rather than walk.
In a scene out of the classic “King Kong” movie, Holly Layman was with a fully costume-ensconced King Kong (Charlie beneath the fur) and their dog Oliver, dressed as an airplane. Holly was portraying Ann Darrow (think Fay Wray), the actress for whom King Kong falls. Oliver didn’t care about the airplane costume. “He just wants to play and be friendly,” she said, but Charlie “loves being King Kong.” They are from Perkiomenville, Pa.
Superhero-costumed Jenna Griffith of Harrisburg, Pa., was walking Wonder Woman, aka Lucy, in the parade. They were just ahead of a mobile donut shop.
Ellen Mulholland, the shopkeeper, and Macie Capelli, adorned with donuts, brought four dogs from their “Sweet” Tzu Shoppe – Dusty Donut, Simon Espresso, Susie Sundae and Honey Bun.
Emery Keeler of Ocean City had a dog with no costume. She was with Ingrid Pranzo of South Dennis who had two dogs in costume, Ruby, a witch, and Rusty, a warlock.
“They generally don’t mind,” Paranzo said, “because they’re both therapy dogs and they get dressed up to visit the nursing homes. She is very tolerant of hats. He is very young so he is still very interested in the other dogs.”
Keeler said her dog, Jack, shook off his costume, but she came up with another.
“He’s a streaker,” she said, smiling.
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
