On October 26, the Frederick Scott Key Lions Club held the fifth annual Canines on the Creek. Dog owners from all over the county gathered at Carroll Creek to show off their dog’s Halloween costumes and enjoy this fun parade with friends and family.
Canines on the Creek is a fun, family-friendly event which includes a parade and dog Halloween contest. There are also giveaways, food, prizes, exhibitors and demonstrations.
Ellen Bennett and her husband first started hosting this event in 2020, right before the pandemic began. They were inspired by a dog parade they attended in Ocean City, and thought it would be interesting to bring a similar event to Frederick. When they first started hosting the event, they held it on different holidays including Saint Patrick’s Day and the Fourth of July.
All proceeds from this event gets donated to Leader Dogs for the Blind. Leader Dogs for the Blind is a program that provides tools and training to reintroduce blind or visually impaired people to a life of independence and companionship. They pair each person that goes through their program with a “Leader dog” and train the dogs to ensure that blind or impaired people are able to travel safely and independently.
Leader Dogs for the Blind has a range of programs including Guide Dog, Orientation & Mobility and Teen Summer Camp. These programs work to meet the needs of their clients, depending what stage of life they are in.
Linda Johnson is one of the many people that attended this event. This was her first time participating in the parade. She brought her two dogs, Izzy and Oliver. Izzy was dressed up as a unicorn, and Oliver was dressed up as a horse with a cowboy on his back.
Johnson enjoyed how family-friendly this event was and she loved seeing all of the dogs dressed up.
“We just thought it would be fun, the weather is nice and the dogs love to be out,” said Johnson.
April Phillips was another dog lover that attended the parade. Phillips works for Happy Dog Grooming Salon, which is one of the many companies that came out to represent their brand. For the parade, Phillips brought her dog, Gretchen. Gretchen was dressed up as Beetlejuice and coordinated her hair color with her costume.
Halloween is Phillips’ favorite holiday. She wanted to come out and support Happy Dog Grooming Salon, but also see all of the different costumes and dogs that walked along the creek.
“I am all about dogs, they make the world go around,” said Phillips. “They are awesome in costumes.”
Steve High and his Toy Poodle, Fozzie, came across the event by accident last year, and thought it would be a good idea to come back and participate. High enjoyed interacting with all the dog owners during the parade and thought it was interesting to see all of the creative costumes.
“We think our dog is cool, and we wanted an excuse to put him in a costume,” said High.
