• What makes the Deco Dog Parade special

What makes the Deco Dog Parade special

Written by Debra Youthed, photos by Sarah Cates

The Deco Dog Parade is an unlikely event for a self-confessed crazy cat lady to attend but it turned out to be an exceedingly good idea.

Sailor suits, fascinators, gym slips and braces were the order of the day for both canines, and humans, at this increasingly popular event on the Art Deco Festival calendar.

A breath of fresh air amongst the high fashion themed events, the Deco Dog Parade is a celebration of relaxed family fun that everyone can get involved in. Which makes it particularly fitting that a family group took out the overall winner award.

The last-minute decision by Steve and Renee Moody to enter with one-year old Teddy was driven by the youngest family members, Oliver (8) and Alfie (3).

To honour her English origins and her boys’ birthplace Renee themed the outfits around the red, white and blue of the Union Jack and the New Zealand flag.

The unexpected win was made even sweeter by being presented with the award by Jacinda Adern, who graciously managed to not hijack the event with her presence, and gave Renee’s parents who were visiting from the UK have some very special holiday snaps to show off!

With so many worthy entrants the judges – photographer Fiona Tomlinson and Clarke Gayford – had a difficult task choosing the winners and have asked for more categories to judge next year.

While prizes couldn’t be awarded to all the entries every fur baby received a goodie bag from Pet Essentials, Napier – and let’s be honest, pooches prefer treats to certificates any day, so they were all winners.

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