WHAT A BLAST!!!!!! To ride on a float in that parade is the
coolest thing ever! Special thanks to NYPD who actually helped me get across and thru and
to where I needed to be. You guys ROCK! And a special hello to all the boys in blue who had someone dressed in black
with whiskers ask "What radio station do you listen to?" And then I'd introduce myself. And each one said Q1043!!!!
Huge THANKS to Beth, Steve, and Bella Starlet Dog for asking us to be on the
float. Here's a whole mess of photos that I think you'll enjoy!!
thank you for having us--i put up a photo gallery on the
main page of my blog--i think you'll like it.
xoxo"
...and paw thank you Maria for being a wonderful friend to us always...we appreciate
the shouts out you gave us today on the radio and your blog thanking us!!!
Thank you to everyone at NY1 for covering our float so nicely just like last year!!!
MONICA FROM PLANS FOR PUPS POSTED THESE FUN PHOTOS:):
"Monica these are fantastic photos...I love your wonderful Howl-o-ween enthusiasm, and I just want say
much love and thanks for your help We love all of our family, friends and fans who came out to support us!!!
"Hi Monica...Wow, we are truly honored to be honored by you as Outstanding Achievers as PfP members for our Halloween Float!!!
We are so touched and so happy that we reached over 4 million people about adopting NYC animals "
"I really enjoyed walking with the float. Before the parade I walked around and took a close-up look at many of the other
floats. That was the perfect finale to the Halloween season."
Apparently, dogs all over New York City
heard this song, and the news about these trombones traveled fast! Dozens of dogs showed up prepared for a big brass
meal! Boy, were they disappointed to learn the truth—but they had a good time at the parade anyway. The pooches came
from rescues and shelters all around the city. Ever in Halloween spirit, they were dressed in inspired costumes.
ASPCA staffers joined the annual Greenwich Village Halloween parade, proudly representing in orange and handing out hundreds
of orange wristbands to the crowd! The ASPCA and other animal organizations walked alongside a fabulous "Animals Love NYC" float, sponsored by New York Tails
Magazine, Q1043 FM , Bella Starlet Dog Talent, Street Treats and Tribeca-Soho Animal Hospital.
Click here to see more ASPCA pics from the parade (and you get to see a few shots of the staffers at the office, too!).
Bella, a New York City
model, spent nearly a year preparing for the annual Village Halloween Parade. She waited for months for her specially
made costume to arrive and, a couple of weeks before the big night, she had her hair cut and braided with beads to match
it. It’s not too much to ask for the star of her own float – but Bella is a dog.
Her owner, Beth
Joy Knutsen, wasn’t the only proud parent to dress up with her pet last night.
It is possible that approximately
7.4 million households across the country did, according to a study released last week by the National Retail Federation,
the country’s largest retail trade association.
Although this was the first study of its kind, local pet storeowners say
they have noticed a trend for quite some time.
Anna Reyes, assistant manager of Canine Styles Downtown, said her Village
store began selling pet clothes approximately two and a half years ago and it now accounts for approximately 60 to 65 percent
of the store’s total annual sales. With a growing number of Halloween-themed pet events within the city this year,
Reyes said more costumes were ordered to meet the growing demand.
“This year we started putting the costumes
out right at the beginning of October,” Reyes said. “It did a lot better than last year.”
Reyes
said only a handful of costumes, which sold for $25 to $35, were left by the end of the night.
P. Elizabeth Anderson,
author of “The Powerful Bond between People and Pets,” said most people treat their animals as members of their family,
even like surrogate children.
“Animals are treated as a member of the family in a role similar to that of
a child with all the rights and privileges bestowed on children,” Anderson said.
Taisha Rivera, a veterinary
technician at the TriBeCa-SoHo Animal Hospital, dresses her dog, Tsunade, on a daily basis. She looks forward to dressing
up her daschund up in frilly dresses and other cute outfits.
“I like the attention she gets,” Rivera
said. “Everybody takes pictures of her.”
For Halloween, she bought Tsunade’s Pocohantas costume
on sale for $14. She said she has spent about $50 on pet clothes since she adopted her pet last April. Zahra Meherali,
on the other hand, made a promise to her friends she would not dress her dog in clothes. Although she will admit to putting
a jacket on her yorkie, Sigmund Freud, on cold days, she said that’s where she draws the line. She only makes a large exception
for Halloween.
“He’s a dog. I want him to be a dog,” Meherali said. “I can’t dress him
everyday. He’s a dog, not a doll.”
For their first Halloween together, they boarded the animal float at the
Village Parade, joining Knutsen and Bella. To fit the float’s New York City theme, Meharali dressed up as a tourist
and Sigmund was dressed as the Naked Cowboy, a Times Square staple. Sigmund wore his own cowboy hat, a pair of white
underwear briefs, and a toy guitar wrapped around his furry body.
Knutsen started the animal float for the Village
Parade last year after walking the parade with Bella for seven years. She rescued Bella from an abusive home in 1998
and uses the float to promote pet adoption in the city. She said she is happy animals are finally getting recognition
for their participation in the parade.
“Over the years, the animal craze has sky-rocketed,” Knutsen said. “When
I started going to these events there were only a couple. Now there are about 20 to 30 events within the metropolitan area.”
Last
night’s pet-related events also included the Downtown Doghouse’s Fifth Annual Halloween Party, where dogs bobbed
for hot dogs and went home with doggie bags filled with healthy treats, and the Hounds of Halloween Costume Party, where
prizes were awarded to the best pet, child, and adult costumes of the night.
You can view NY Rocks TV interview of us on our float soon...
Paw thanks to Nikki Moustaki who rode on our float dressed as Alice in Wonderland has her own shown
called "Celebrity Pet Dish" (she is wearing Bella Starlet's pawprint charm in a few episodes)...these webisodes can be viewed
here:
The E-Newsletter of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals
Out of the Cage!
Fall/Holiday 2007 - Volume 4: Issue 4
Fall Adoption Events Create Happy Homes
Photo by Elizabeth Riley
Maddie's Fund Mascot and Mayor's Alliance Groups Star in Village Halloween Parade
For the second year, the Maddie's Fund mascot rode atop the dazzling animal float in the ever-popular Village Halloween Parade in October. The animal float was given a prestigious number two spot in the parade line-up. Representatives from nearly a
dozen Mayor's Alliance Participating Organizations escorted the float, walking behind the Mayor's Alliance banner and displaying
their own group's banner. Thousands of onlookers lined the streets as the parade wound its way uptown, and cheered the animal
presence in the parade.
Thanks to Diane West of New York Tails, Beth Joy Knutsen and Bella Starlet Dog, and everyone else who invited the Mayor's Alliance and the Maddie's Fund
mascot to participate in this highly visible event!
CBS TV News showed some pooches walking alongside us.
Thank you to Sivan Raviv of Columbia Graduate School for Journalism and Columbia Television News
for adding us aboard our float to your documentary: http://ravsiv.wordpress.com/video/halloween-pets/
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
We thank you all for coming to make 2007 the BEST Parade ever!
and much thanks again to Bob at Bond Parade Floats for helping us achieve the best for NYC animals!!!
PHOTO BELOW ARE BY MENGLY TAING OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, ISABELLE JACOBI OF SWISS RADIO, MARGO HERRE OF NYU AND
PAULA WHO IS BELLA'S AUNT:
Manhattan
Greenwich
Village Halloween Parade Lurches Up Sixth Avenue
October 31, 2007
The streets of Manhattan were filled with
ghosts, ghouls and a whole bunch of costumes inspired by pop culture Wednesday night for the city's 34th annual Greenwich
Village Halloween Parade.
Halloween-lovers dressed in costumes joined hundreds of puppets, 53 bands, floats, and crowds
galore for the walk up Sixth Avenue.
This year's theme was "Wings of Desire" – honoring mankind's journey into
the skies through the power of one's imagination.
The creature from Mel Brook's new Broadway musical "Young Frankenstein"
took the lead as the honorary grand marshal, while hundreds of other creatures put their moves to the test in a make-shift
production of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
The parade ran from Houston to 23rd Streets and was broadcast liveon NY1
by John Schiumo, Jill Scott, and George Whipple.
...lovely thank you e-mail quotes:
"Thanks so much for having Q on the float!!
You & Bella were gracious hosts!!
Kudos for you for all
your hard work. Totally payed off!!"
Josefa Paganuzzi
Director of Communications
Clear Channel Radio New York
"Beth and Bella,
THANK YOU for having the most fun event Petey or I have ever been to!
It was totally awesome and we were flattered that you let us on the float because you just like us.
We can't wait until next year!
Have you seen NY1 yet? I am watching it now, very very fun!!!
totally!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just watched the video, they mentioned bella
starlet :)
THANKS AGAIN for being soo awesome!
xxoo love, beth and petey"
"HI
We just wanted to let you know that we had an amazing time on the float last
night. Thank you so much for including us - we were so honored to be a part of this event. Everyone looked amazing
in their costumes.
Thanks for an amazing Halloween 2007.
Carla and Chloe (aka The Queen(s) of Hearts)
Playing dress
up with the dog is my very favorite thing to do and being dressed up with Chloe AND on a float with dog lovers was the
best way I could have spent Halloween. If you ever need volunteers to work on these kind of projects in the future I
would love to be involved.
C"
"Dear Beth & Bella,
Congratulations on a very
successful float last night. Jen Berg has shown me some photos of you and Bella, and her an Yahoo, and Taisha and Alex
Koprowski and their dogs. My neighbors at West Village Vet were excited to do it as well.
Thank you for the opportunity
to participate...and what about next year??????
Thanks again,.
Mark
Mark
G. Burns, DVM Diplomat, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Founder, Hospital Director, & Managing
Member Downtown Veterinary Medical Hospitals PLLC"
"Hey Beth, Thank you for last night, riding on that float was cool. Thanks again. Warren"
"You and Bella are a class act, and always fun to be around! Thanks again
for another great float. "
Karen & Eli Biehl
"Thank you for the card!!
I'm so thrilled that it went so well!!
Like all the pics! Very cool!
Congrats!
Love,
K
Kevin Christophersen
K Communications"
"Zahra Meherali wrote at 9:45pm yesterday Hi Beth,
Jesus, the kitty and the twin Statues of Liberty were incredible and inspirational.
Sig and I were honoured to just know and hang out with such incredible peeps. Hope we helped spread the adoption fever. Thanks
for letting us be a part of it!!! Zahra & Sigmund Freud"
"That was awesome! I had soo much fun, and I think Petey did too. Thanks
for including us.
xxoo beth and petey"
"Hey Beth,
Thanks for sending me all this teriffic stuff. I had a great
time on Halloween this year! So did Sherrod, Stuffin and Alex too. I'm looking forward to next years float..What's the theme?
I will speak to you soon.
My best, Brad"
Bella Starlet Dog May 25, 2008 2007 Greenwich Village Halloween Parade Rocking on the Float with Beth &
Bella The Starlet Dog.
We love all of our family, friends and fans who came out to support us!!!
"
