Hello, everyone. Are you as excited about this weekend as I am? The Southeast Volusia Humane Society and the Canal Street Historical District have teamed up again this year to put on the 2nd annual Mardi Gras Dog Parade. Paws on Parade: A Mardi Gras Celebration will be on Saturday, Feb. 6, on Canal Street. Registration will begin at 1 p.m. in the parking lot on North Orange Avenue. The parade will walk from Orange to Canal Street, and then walk east down to Sams Avenue. Once the parade gets there, we’ll have judging. This year, it’s going to be even more fun than last year! The grand marshal for the parade is my very good friend, Charlie Carlson, and his famous boxer, Miss Scarlet. Charlie is the author of the best-selling book “Weird Florida” and he has his own PBS show, “Weird Florida, Roads Less Traveled” along with Miss Scarlet as his sidekick. Miss Scarlet has been in several movies and has won various awards for her talents. Most importantly, Miss Scarlet raises money to help other less-fortunate animals. I know you will be so excited to meet both of them. Their home is right here in New Smyrna Beach. How lucky are we!
We also have a really fun pet photo contest going on that day. There will be several merchants on Canal Street that will be displaying photos of their favorite dog and asking you to come in and vote for your favorite. The voting won’t begin until 10 a.m. on Saturday and will end at 5 p.m. They need your vote, so be sure to pick up a list of merchants participating in the photo contest at the registration booth and help support Canal Street. The winner of the photo contest will be right here in The Observer next week.
Folks will be selling beads, doing face painting and kid’s tattoos. Vendors will be there to sell lots of pretty things and most importantly, you’ll be there to help support the wonderful people at the Southeast Volusia Humane Society.
The entry fee for the parade is $5. If you haven’t registered already, don’t worry, you can register when you get there. If you would like to bring donations for the shelter, there will be an area for drop off (you can go to their Web site “wish list” and see what is most needed, at www.sevhs.com).
Another fun thing that will be happening at the registration site is that SEVHS’s very own professional photographer, Gladys, will be at the registration area taking photos of pets and owners. The photos are only $5 and the proceeds will go to help the animals at the shelter. She is an amazing photographer and this is a wonderful opportunity to have your picture taken with your best friend.
After the parade, the Canal Street Historical District has many wonderful events planned so be sure to plan to spend the whole day.
Our judges are geared up and ready to go so bring your four legged kids down to Canal Street and let’s have some fun! There are several different categories for judging and this year, every dog and dog/owner that wants to be in the final judging will have an opportunity to strut their mutt on stage.
I’ll see you there. Don’t worry, you can’t miss me. Mom is making me wear this big goofy hat with a shiny vest. I look pretty silly, but it’s for a good cause. If I can do it, so can you.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions. See you at the parade!

Mango, a rescued pet, is the inspiration for this column by Debi Laibe. Send any questions or comments to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it