Vickie: Just a heads up on parade protocol!! We (TRBMDC) frequently do parades and toss candy to the children. We also pass out Berner Baseball cards to interested parents. On the parade protocol front, most recently we were told by the Greensburg, PA Christmas parade organizers that we could no longer toss candy to the kids -- a safety hazard (can you believe it?)! They did say that we could "hand" the candy to the children. We had 22 dogs, some with carts, at the Greensburg parade -- it was cold but no one noticed -- certainly not the dogs. We have about 40 members in our club. After the parade, we (dogs and people) went over to a club member's house and had chili (inside) while the dogs played in the yard! The Great Pyrs in front of us all wore holly wreaths around their necks and Santa hats on their heads. It really looked nice on their white fur.
Depending on the parade, we decorate the carts and our dogs consistent with the theme of the parade. For the Christmas Parade, I had a battery-lighted 2-ft Christmas tree in my cart, secured by Styrofoam. My dog wore a Scarf-em up red bandana with a while Swiss cross embroidered on it. My two other dogs (on lead) wore bells and big Christmas bows. My pup loved all the attention that she received. We are considering adding two more parades next year -- a Christmas one in Pittsburgh and a Halloween one in Mt. Lebanon, PA. We already to an Ohio Swiss parade in the fall. These are not part of our regular meetings, but rather as an extra event. Nancy Melone Mars, PA Three Rivers BMDC
