Dogs take over Ocean City Boardwalk for Howl-O-Ween Parade

Editor

Monday, October 28, 2024

Dogs and their owners get dressed up in costumes for the zany parade.

Buoy wasn’t about to let his canine little brother, Matteo, show him up.

Family pride and barking … er, bragging rights were at stake.

Buoy, a 4-year-old golden retriever, got all dressed up in his Woody from “Toy Story” costume, complete with a tiny hat, to grab the attention Saturday afternoon at Ocean City’s Howl-O-Ween parade on the Boardwalk.

Matteo, a 1-year-old golden retriever, comically had another Woody character riding on his back for his costume.

“I don’t think he knows it’s there. Once he finds out, he’ll know that he’s supposed to be a horse,” Al DeRitis, who owns Matteo, with his wife, Renee, said laughing.

Buoy and Matteo were among more than 400 dogs – many dressed in elaborate and outlandish costumes – that strutted down the Boardwalk with their owners in the fourth annual Howl-O-Ween spectacle hosted by the Humane Society of Ocean City.

Normally, dogs are banned from the Boardwalk, but the city allows the canines to take over during the Howl-O-Ween festivities for an entire “Dog Days” weekend. Leashed dogs will once again be allowed to roam the boards on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Al and Renee DeRitis, of Broomall, Pa., were joined by their daughter and son-in-law, Mia and Lou Lombardi, who are Margate residents and Buoy’s owner.

“I picked the costume for him,” Mia Lombardi said of Buoy’s “Toy Story” getup. “I wanted him to match his brother’s costume.”

All of the dogs in the parade seemed to have a sense of humor, considering the silly costumes they were wearing. There were dogs dressed as hotdogs, Barbie dolls, Halloween characters, professional athletes, movie stars and much more.

A large canine-friendly cage, filled with a handful of friendly basset hounds, was topped with the sign “County Jail.”

From left, Lou and Mia Lombardi and their dog, Buoy, head down the Boardwalk with Al and Renee DeRitis and their dog, Matteo.

Many of the dog owners also dressed in hilarious or spooky Halloween costumes, including one couple portraying “Beetlejuice” and the movie’s Shrunken Head Man. Another couple was absolutely groovy in their 1960s-inspired hippie outfits. There were also plenty of witches and pirates.

Adding some star power, the Phillie Phanatic entertained the parade crowds with his high-energy antics. The parade’s grand marshal was former Philadelphia Eagle wide receiver Vince Papale, who autographed footballs and memorabilia for his fans.

Kaitlin Houck and her fiance, Nick McCollian, both of Bensalem, Pa., dressed up their dog, Kobe, as the Stitch character from the Disney animated film, “Lilo & Stitch.”

“He was a little nervous at first,” Houck said of Kobe, a Shih Tzu and Bichon mix. “But he was happy as soon as he saw the other dogs.”

George and Lisa Faracchio use a kiddie wagon for their English bulldogs, Lola and Lily.

Lola and Lily, two English bulldogs owned by George and Lisa Faracchio, of Somers Point, were turning heads with their eye-catching costumes.

Lola was wearing a Hawaiian dancer-themed outfit complete with a hula skirt and coconuts. Lily was dressed in a poodle skirt in her 1950s-era costume.

The Faracchios were participating in the Howl-O-Ween parade for the first time. Based on the fun they were having, Lisa Faracchio said she would like to see the city allow dogs on the Boardwalk more often.

“Yes, 100 percent,” she said. “I wish that because the dogs would love it. This is great. This is so great today.”

Dachshunds Daisy and Zoey catch a lift from their owner, Diane Coleman, left, and her friend, Terri Peterson.

Diane Coleman, joined by her friend, Terri Peterson, of Ocean City, acted as chauffeur for her two dachshunds, Daisy and Zoey, by pushing them around in a baby stroller. Coleman, who is vacationing at the shore from her home in Waterford, Mich., joked that her dogs absolutely insisted on being in the parade.

“The dogs said that we had to go to the Ocean City Boardwalk for the Howl-O-Ween parade,” she exclaimed.

The Howl-O-Ween parade is one of the main fundraising events for the Humane Society of Ocean City and coincides with the HSOC’s “Pet of the Year” contest.

The contest raised about $16,000, said Bella Elias, who handles social media and marketing for the HSOC. The parade also raises money for the HSOC, but the amount wasn’t immediately announced Saturday.

Elias thanked all of the parade participants, as well as Mayor Jay Gillian, other city officials and the police department, for a strong community partnership that benefits both Ocean City and the HSOC. The HSOC is a no-kill shelter that cares for dogs and cats while trying to find them permanent homes.

“It raises a lot of money to support and fund us,” Elias said of the parade. “It creates a sense of community and also puts a lot of smiles on faces. It’s like a spotlight shining on the town.”