St. Louis...Going To The Dogs

The Beggin’ Barkus Pet Parade, sponsored by Purina PetCare, stepped off on Sunday, February 23, 2014, marking its twenty-first year as a highlight of the St. Louis Mardi Gras festivities.  Grand Marshal Andy Cohen is a St. Louis native who now lives in Manhattan and has claimed fame as a producer for the Bravo Network.  The alternative rock band Barenaked Ladies preformed a free concert after the parade.

The 21st year of the Purina Beggin' Strips Pet Parade

St. Louis Police are serious when they post "No Parking" signs in the parade area

But they didn't tow the Schnucks V-8 powered giant shopping cart???

 

Spectators begin to line the parade route hours beforehand

 

Who is walking whom in this picture?

Dogs of all breeds and ALL SIZES mingled on the streets

An Airedale ready for the "best dressed pooch" competition.  We've had two
Airdales in the past, Fergie and Tasha, two of the sweetest-natured dogs ever.

New York television producers and Canadian musicians notwithstanding, the real stars of the afternoon were the eight thousand four-legged “celebrities-for-a-day” from pooches to hounds, from pedigreed to mixed breed, all strutting their stuff.  Costumed furry friends deigned to walk (or on occasion be carried or pulled in wagons or pushed in baby strollers by their two legged companions) the parade route on a chilly Sunday.  Another dash of excitement was added by “drag-racing” dachshunds in the Weiner Dog Derby. The lively conclusion of the parade took place on the entertainment stage at Soulard Farmers’ Market where the coronation of the “best dressed pooch” took place.

Walk in the parade?  I think not...

Too pooped to parade!

Stepping out with ATTITUDE

An Old English Sheepdog walks its owner in the parade.  When we
had our Old English, Maggie, she thought she was a lap dog

Banfield Pet Hospital offered free face painting for the young and young-at-heart

 

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Weatherbird walked in the parade.
(Notice that he's looking up, trying to figure out what the forecast should be.)

 

There is a breed just right for everyone!  An estimated 100,000 people enjoyed a bright but frigid Sunday afternoon watching the antics of 8,000 amazingly well-behaved canines.  In addition to the fun the parade raised over $17,000 for the no-kill rescue and adoption center Open Door Animal Sanctuary in High Ridge, Missouri.

The Purina float.  This might be the only parade that
causes a frenzy by throwing DOG TREATS to the crowd.

Maybe if I just ignore this tutu they put on me, I can maintain my dignity

Yeah, well, maybe you can, but I can't!

A Shiba Inu, a Japanese breed, was smart, attentive, well-trained and beautiful

Sitting patiently to get the free treats that Purina was giving out to pet owners

Dogs of all breeds and sizes, including this "pocket puppy"

Don't look now, sir, but you left your dog at home...that's your cat you're carrying

For all you Mizzou fans, this guy painted his dog up as a Tiger

After a fun afternoon enjoying the world’s largest pet parade (according to the Guinness Book of World Records), a stop at another iconic site literally added a cherry on top of a great day.  A Fitz’s root beer float is a fitting closure…or perhaps a bottomless mug of root beer from the tap…or, with a nod to the day’s festivities, a Coney Dog with onion rings.  You can even make a selection from the gluten-free menu.

Fitz's Restaurant and bottling plant is housed in an old bank building, built in 1928

To add authenticity, Fitz's uses 1940's vintage bottling equipment , found intact and
stored in a barn in Shawno, WI.  The line can produce one bottle of soda per second

Fitz’s first appeared in St. Louis in 1947 as a local drive-in restaurant.  Sadly, it disappeared for a number of years.  But the foamy, creamy treat returned when Fitz’s Bottling Company opened a soda micro brewery in 1993 in the Delmar Loop in University City.  You can enjoy your favorite root beer (or four other flavors) on tap or take a six-bottle carton or a mix-and-match case of twenty-four bottles home with you.

Fitz's Root Beer, Diet Root Beer and 3 other flavors on tap.
All together, they make about a dozen flavors of soda.

From costumed dogs to Coney Dogs, another fun day and another great chapter in our Road Stories.

Sophie has been to the parade with us in the past, but because of the weather,
we didn't take her along this year.  Shhhhh, don't tell her!