Hundreds of people and their short-legged pups gathered at Washington Square Park on May 10 for the 23rd Annual Rochester Dachshund Parade.
Check out the photos to see the fun costumes and cuteness overload at this furry fun event!
What is the Rochester Dachshund Parade?
The beloved Rochester Dachshund Parade was founded by the late Marilyle Sweet-Page after she attended a similar dachshund parade at Washington Square Park in New York City in the early 2000’s, according to the parade’s co-chair and emcee Alan Frost.
With tears in his eyes, Frost spoke of Sweet-Page’s love for dachshunds and how she insisted on having Rochester’s parade at Washington Square Park just like the one she visited in NYC.
“She brought out the sunshine for us today,” he said, speaking of the beautiful weather at the event.
The parade raises money through donations and merchandise sales for Rochester Hope for Pets, Rochester Emergency Veterinary Services (REVS) and Verona Street Animal Society.
Speakers from each of the organizations took the stage, set up in the middle of the park, to explain what they do and give thanks to everyone who was donating. Other on-stage activities prior to the big parade included a dog fashion show, the singing of “The Dachs Song” (Sweet-Page’s favorite, according to Frost), and prizes for the oldest dachshund at the event and the pup that traveled the furthest.
According to Amy Johnston, who has made the trip from Pennsylvania to Rochester for 10 years to attend the parade, she has met people who have travelled from Hawaii to have their wiener dogs included in the annual Rochester Dachshund Parade.
Food and merchandise vendors lined the park selling knitted hats for pets, dachshund decor and of course, hot dogs. One of these vendors included Michelle Cardulla’s Kids Art for the Support of Animals (KASA), an organization Cardulla started to give her students at Rochester City School District the opportunity to raise money for animals through their artwork.
Cardulla sold mugs, scarves, cards and more with her student’s artwork of a portrait of the late dachshund named Hank, who had previously attended the event for 12 years.
Dachshunds parade around Washington Square Park
By noon, the perimeter of Washington Square Park was flooded with people eager to watch all of the doxies dressed up in silly costumes march around the parade.
There were pups dressed as hot dogs, butterflies, “The Buffalo Jills Doxies,” and a banana split sundae- just to name a few.
Even some of the owners participated in the costume fun, matching their adorable dachshunds. Cynthia Norton dressed up as a bottle of ketchup as she wheeled her pups dressed in hot dog costumes around the parade in their wagon.
Other dogs like Milo, the black and brown long-haired dachshund, sat in the grass as spectators during the parade portion of the event. Milo took charge of the parade organization by barking at every pup who walked by, ensuring they were on their best behavior.
As the event wound down and all the pups began to leave, Frost said he was ecstatic about this year’s turnout. Usually, he said, they only have access to half of Washington Square Park, but this year they turned the entire park into a dachshund haven.
It turned out to be the largest crowd of attendees the event has ever had, he said.
“I love what you see here, what you hear,” Frost said. “All of these people and dogs just having a great time in our city of Rochester.”
— Madison Scott is a journalist with the Democrat and Chronicle who covers breaking and trending news for the Finger Lakes Region. She has an interest in how the system helps or doesn’t help families with missing loved ones. She can be reached at MDScott@gannett.com.
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