One woman’s desire to rekindle a favorite small-town childhood memory resulted in hundreds of new memories and wagging tails Saturday at the Aztec Pawty Pet Parade.
The “first annual” Aztec Pawty Parade attracted more than 50 costumed participants as more than 100 dogs and owners gathered at Armijo Plaza on Aztec’s North Main Avenue Extension. Food trucks and pet-related vendors enticed dogs and their owners to the area on a mild spring day.
Each dog entered in the parade had his or her 30 seconds of fame before the judges, when owners introduced their dogs and explained what the “costume” or theme of the entrant was.
Reactions of the dogs to their various costumes seemed to range from slightly annoyed to nonchalant, figuring it was just one more silly thing required by their humans. Truth is, though, all these doggos are the lucky ones, those with homes and families. The cost to enter the parade and a portion of the day’s proceeds all went to the benefit of Aztec Animal Shelter.
The shelter is crammed with more than 150 dogs that need homes, said shelter director Tina Roper. “We are very packed over there right now,” she said. At Saturday’s event, animal shelter staff had produced “baseball” cards of some of the adoptable dogs available. One enticement was a reduced adoption fee of 50% off, which Roper explained will be honored throughout the week of April 22 for those who picked up a card Saturday.
In addition to a bumper crop of puppies, the shelter has many dogs ages 2 to 3 years. Roper agreed that often these dogs make ideal family pets, having outgrown the manic puppy phase of life, yet still young and often eager to please.
“They are grateful to have a chance to have a new life,” Roper said. “I like the older dogs myself; probably the majority of our dogs are in the 1½ to 2-year-old range.”
Rhonda Huntington, organizer of Saturday’s event for the city of Aztec, said she was approached earlier this year by Aztec’s The Soaps of Katie Elder on Main Street. She told Huntington she remembered as a child that Aztec had a pet parade, and she wondered if it could be done again.
“I thought, ‘heck I can throw a pet parade,’” Huntington said.
As Aztec’s event organizer, she approached city officials with the idea. Met with an enthusiastic response, the event was pulled together in time for spring.
In addition to being a way to generate needed funds for the shelter and give people and their pets a chance to get out and mingle, the event was a great way to introduce the community to the improvements at Armijo Plaza.
Like other parks in the Aztec system, this area, complete with parking and electricity, can be reserved for private parties by contacting the city of Aztec’s Utility Office.
Saturday’s Pawty Parade contest winners were: Under 11 pounds, puppy Dayton, riding in style with handler Angel; 16-35, Obie “On the road again” with handler Jeannie, and 36 pounds and over was Lyric, the flapper girl dog with handler Misty.
“We were thrilled with the turnout,” Huntington said.
