Poodles on Parade

Poodle patriotism on California's North Coast

When it comes to July 4th parades, the town of Mendocino (California) marches to the beat of a different drummer. Just of a few of the "floats" you might see include the All-Susan Marching Band (a couple of dozen women named Susan), the Petaluma Chicken Pluckers, the Mendocino Bakery's "Bread Not Bombs" contingent, the Legalize Hemp Coalition, a couple of tattoo parlor operators...

You get the idea.

This year, for the first time, poodles entered the picture. A local pet-supply and grooming business, the Evergreen Barn, spearheaded Poodles on Parade. Fifteen or so poodles of all sizes and colors participated, displaying poms and patriotism to a crowd of thousands. Most of the poodles and their owners were local residents, but two standard poodles were from San Francisco -- I ran into them and their owners on July 3 and told them about the parade, and they extended their stay in order to participate!

Below you'll find the Poodles on Parade photo album.

Before the parade begins, Trixie checks out one of her fellow marchers, a beautiful male standard poodle named Jazz -- who is obviously into the spirit of the 4th.
Stand back, fasten your seatbelts, wake the kids, because here it comes...
Poodles on Parade!
The drama and excitement continue as the float passes by. I'm the one who looks lost and confused. The fellow wearing the cap was the San Francisco resident who rearranged his travel plans in order to participate -- clearly a man who has his priorities straight.
But wait, there's more! Hot on our tails -- and I mean tails -- is a companion float: "Women Who Run With Poodles." These were several women dressed in, shall we say, offbeat costumes, few of which had anything to do with poodles. But the crowd loved 'em!