Tombstone Pet Parade

Earlier in the week Alicia and I talked about a Ghosttown tour of western Cochise County, knowing that Sunday's weather would be cool. Instead we agreed to help out a local animal shelter and met at 11am in Tombstone for the Pet Parade, hosted by the Tombstone Small Animal Shelter. All money raised went directly to the shelter, which is 100% volunteer staffed and funded. I've already met a few of the volunteers at the PetSmart Charities in Sierra Vista so some faces, but no names, were familiar. Entrance fee was $5. Awards were given out after the parade in several categories: Largest Pet, Smallest Pet, Oldest/Youngest Pet/Pet Owner, Most Unusual Pet and Most Popular Pet. All participants also got a goodie bag afterwards, stuff donated from local people.

Weather was ideal for the parade. It was in the high 60s today with no wind and clear skies, which made for some sun-bleached photos. At least the pavement wasn't too hot for the dogs' paws.

This was not a huge parade, but several people entered their horses, cows, goats, chickens and even a goose. This made for a very interesting mix of animals on the street, and luckily the gathering went peacefully. Nobody brought a cat. Now that would have been a riot!

The town was still waking up when Alicia and I met at 11am. We were early and had time to spare, so we walked a bit around Allen Street, the tourist street that is depicted in all the literature about Tombstone. Locals sat around watching passers-by--as they often do--including one man dressed in Confederate costume to match that of his young German Shepherd Dog, Aphrodite. The poor dog looked weighed down with her costume, which included a Confederate hat, a thick leather collar and a choker collar and a bag of "Tombstone gold" over her back. She obediently followed her owner as he walked around the area. I'm not sure if he was actually a participant, though.

We walked a bit up and down Allen Street. This is were all the tourists go for entertainment. This street is closed to regular traffic and is reserved for the horse carriages so that tourists can feel as if they are walking in the past as they stroll through. That's fine, but the street is PAVED (because business owners complained of dirt getting into their shops!). Locals are seen wearing era clothing for their OK Corral Shoot-Outs, then walk the rest of the day around town looking like business owners, saloon keepers, miners or even outlaws from the 1880s. For the tourist this may be nice to see, but I am not too keen on how the town markets its past with so much artificiality.

Tombstone is a tourist town that makes money on its rough past. But few things are real originals. The only original building is the Bird Theatre, with allegedly real bullet holes from the famous outlaws. The OK Corral's current location is not where the original shoot-out from 1881 occured, nor did the shoot-out happen in the middle of the street. Even the famous Boot Hill Cemetery is not the original cemetery and is now located off SR80 north of town so that drivers can access the place easier and which provides more convenient parking for large vehicles like tour buses. I actually prefer the places frequented by locals in the side streets. Talking to them is always interesting, as everyone has a fascinating story explaining their presence in this town. There are many out-of staters who claim Tombstone as their town now.

"The Town too Tough to Die" is notorious for some quirky people. People here still love their guns and carry them when allowed, although I saw no open carrying today. (Have the local police cracked down on that?) The people I met today, though, were nice. Most shelter volunteers that I have met have the genuine concern for the animals in mind and are more than happy to have more volunteers. I am considering helping out the shelter, but it is a long drive from our home, longer than the drive to Bisbee.

My number in the parade was #16. Alicia with her Luna and Teca were #18 and #19. When we finally lined up to walk the street at 12:30pm, the entire event didn't last but 15 or so minutes. An announcer called our names, we waved back, and that was it. Lots of onlookers dressed in their era costumes, kids in their spring clothing, and even older people all waved at us, but this wasn't a huge crowd. The Bell Family with their goats, chickens, dogs and goose were a big hit, and I got to chat with Lisa Bell for a bit. The goose had never walked on a leash before until a few minutes before the event. Except for one short protest sit-down, he did splendidly! "Most Popular" award went to Senor Rex, a male chihuahua behind me wearing a horse blanket and sombrero, matching his young owner.

Zeke and Luna behaved very well. Zeke seemed curious about the horses, cows, ponies and goats there, but didn't bark at the other dogs, and there was quite a variety: Labradors, Great Dane, German shorthaired pointer, cocker spaniel, English setter, Jack Russell, German Shepherd, ChowX, a few chihuahuas and pit bulls. Many animals were shelter animals out getting some advertisement, and I must say the dogs out today were the best I've seen in a while. (My personal favorite is a 4-year-old German Shepherd DogX, Cedrick) All dogs were well behaved. Strangers came up to Zeke to pet him, both young and old, and a few even photographed him. I was very proud of him. He truly is a happy dog who aims to please, and he walks so well on a leash. I can't say that about Sadie.

Paraders quickly dispersed after the event. We stayed in town and sat down on a metal bench in the shade and watched people walk by. It didn't seem as busy today. At 2pm a group of reenactors came out to play the OK Corral, but this time without the shooting and swearing. A group of older men yelled at the Earp brothers (four men up front dressed in black attire) as the group walked down the street. After a few loud exchanges, the group walked on and that was the end of that.

A wide variety of people visit Tombstone and today was my first time actually watching them. Even the tourists wear Western Wear. A few kids carried toy pistols that fired blasting caps. Shop owners pose outside their shops in leather jackets and long skirts. Men wear bollo ties. People look around, peruse through shops. There really isn't much else to do in this town.

We sat there for two hours and stayed until business everywhere started waning, around 3pm. That's also when I started feeling the cooler temps come on by. After Alicia left in her car, I walked around the block to my car, noticing displays in the small garden plots and taking more photos. This town had a lot of bikers visiting, and people were generally in a good mood. This was one of my better experiences in Tombstone.

The Pet Parade was a fun event. I can see this being enjoyable for local children as well, especially when animals other than dogs are in this parade. Volunteers provided doggie bars for all the animals at the start and finish. I would do this event again.

Next weekend we are talking about walking in the Sierra Vista Mutt March, a similiar event as the Pet Parade but limited to friendly dogs. It's on a Saturday and starts early, at 7:30am, and supports the Nancy Brua Animal Care and Control Center in Sierra Vista. I could participate in that event and still get a hike in afterwards, weather permitting.