Eleven-month-old Jasper competes in the Precious Puppy category of the Bogardus Plaza Dog Show. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib
There was Ruby and Winston. Mulligan and Dexter. Fluffy and Charlie Meatballs. Those hopefuls and some 40 other four-legged locals gathered in Bogardus Plaza this month to strut their stuff at Tribeca’s first ever dog show.
Video by Carl Glassman/The Tribeca Trib
And every dog could have its day in one or more of seven competitions—Waggiest Tail, Best Trick, Senior Superstar, Precious Puppy, Best Dressed, and Remarkable Rescue. No fancy pedigree required.
Winners of the May 15 event received trophies and all entrants got a raffle ticket. The seven raffle winners chose prizes donated by local dog-related business.
The show, on the Reade Street and West Broadway triangle, went smoothly, and it drew a far bigger crowd than Friends of Bogardus Plaza, the organizers, had expected. But this being their first dog show, there was plenty to worry about, they said. Humans being one of them.
“We wanted the judges to have fun and not get run out of town from people who said things like, ‘I thought my dog had the waggiest tail!’ We didn’t want it to get too competitive,” said Friends of Bogardus Plaza Vice President Andrea Pivnick, who came up with the show idea.
“We’ve never had that many dogs on the plaza,” noted Victoria Weil, president of the volunteer group. “I was worried that there would be dog fights, that somebody, or somebody’s dog, would get bitten. Or some of the dogs would pee all over the plaza.”
None of it came to pass and the show will now be an annual event, Weil said.
Pivnick emphasized the generosity of the judges who gave their time, and the local businesses who contributed prizes. “Having their support helped us push this forward. It meant everything to us,” she said. “It was like a proverbial hug from the community.”