All the best doggos at Fort Greene's ‘Great Pupkin’ costume contest

Howie's Hot Dog Cart took home Best in Show honors this year

A one-day rain delay forced an inordinate number of no-shows among the contestants, but that didn’t dim the enthusiasm of the huge crowd on the monument steps yesterday afternoon as some 87 adorably adorned dogs strutted across the stage at Fort Greene Park’s 23rd annual Great Pupkin Costume Contest.

“We got there an hour early and staked out the best seats in the house,” said Becca Mondshein of Boerum Hill. “We are huge Pupkin fans, love seeing the creativity that people come up with and all the cute dogs. We were very sad to not have the Pupkin last year, so today we’re super excited.”

Everybody’s a winner whenever dogs get dressed up for Halloween—some of the cutest costumes were on the event’s many canine spectators—but since this is an actual contest, with actual ribbons and prizes, there were some official winners, too.

Best in Show went to Howie, a regular at the park whose wheelchair was tricked out as a Sabrett’s hot dog cart. “It’s unbelievable!” said Howie’s person, Clinton Hill resident Alana Davis. “We came two years ago to just watch and I thought I’d enter Howie the next chance we had and I never, ever imagined he would win. Howie has no idea what’s going on right now but he loves the limelight.”

We have a wiener! Best in show Howie (Scott Lynch)

An elaborate rendition of the movie Up took second place, with two dogs in the roles of grumpy Carl and the crazy flightless bird Kevin, and third prize went to a Yorkie dressed up as a s’more.

The ‘Up’ pup took second runner … up! (Scott Lynch)

Third place winner, s’more puppy (Scott Lynch)

Other contestants who placed in the top 10 included an incredible Scrooge McDuck, replete with a mountain of gold coins; a homage to the classic sci-fi film, The Dog the Earth Stood Still; a rambunctious Nutellabradoodle; and Amelia EARhart (above), who recreated the famous doomed flight in a bright red plane.

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