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NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (USA) —
In Central Park last Saturday, hundreds of people witnessed a little brown dog flying through the sky.
It was "a riot", said David Patrick Columbia, columnist for
the New
York Social Diary. Mr. Columbia was one of the many
dog-lovers who were there to see "Rhoadi" the flying mutt
defy the law of gravity and levitate as high as six feet into the
air (see photo, right).
Rhoadi wasn't the only projectile pooch to wow the crowd that
afternoon. The "Highest Jumper" competition attracted
many furry contestants, as did the other hilarious events featured at
the Great
American Mutt Show on Sep. 28.
The expo, now in its second successful year, was designed to promote
the adoption of mixed-breeds, mongrels and mystery mutts who until
recent years have been dismissed as not being up to par with
their purebred cousins.
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Perhaps a little early for the Macy's Parade...
"Rhoadi" the mutt floats like a balloon over
Manhattan. Not long ago, this pooch was a starving stray wandering
through the Bronx, that is, until he was rescued by Stray from the Heart (www.strayfromtheheart.org)
and adopted by Calvin Gibson at a street adoption booth. Nowadays,
Rhoadi's high on life. (Photo: Monika Graff / Getty
Images)
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"Mutts have never had a voice," said Bunny Williams,
co-founder of Tails
in Need, the organizers of the show. "These adorable
sweethearts are every bit as deserving of the accolades and
attention bestowed upon pedigree dogs, and we're thrilled to finally
give them such an opportunity."
A little helium goes a long way.
Rhoadi took 1st place in the Highest Jumper competition at
Central Park. (Photo: Jeffrey
Hirsch / Tails
in Need)
About a dozen NY-area shelters participated in the festivities and set
up adoption booths around the Naumberg Bandshell where revelers were
encouraged to meet the mutts and maybe take home their very own
bundle-o'-breed, already neutered, spayed, housebroken and waiting
to shower their love (and drool) on the right family.
OK, which one's Waylon,
and which one's Madame?
(Photo: Tails in
Need)
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| "If you can't decide
between a Shepherd, a Setter or a Poodle, get them all - adopt a
mutt!"
ASPCA |
A Fur-For-All
Other fun attractions included "Best Kisser", "Best Lap
Dog Over 50 Pounds", "Who's Walking Who?", "What Else Am
I? (most intriguing mix)" and the final event honoring the unlikely celebrities who made it
all possible: "Dogs Looking for a Home."
The show was free to the public, and at least a thousand New Yorkers
and several hundred New York pooches showed up. Donations were
graciously accepted, but the spectacle was not intended to raise money so much as it
was intended to raise awareness about animals in need
of rescue. And it never hurts to adopt out a few dozen shelter dogs.
For more info, visit www.tailsinneed.org.
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