Meet The Local Couple Behind “Animal Control,” This Year’s Great PUPkin Winner

And the winner is… “Animal Control!”

The trio, made up of Christian and Katie Williams and 10-month-old Charlotte the French bulldog, were the first place winners of this year’s Great PUPkin Dog Costume Contest — hosted each year by Fort Greene PUPS — which drew over 100 contestants and thousands of spectators to the base of the steps of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park for the annual celebration of all things Halloween, dogs, adorableness, and community.

The winning costume was made up of Christian and Katie in giant squirrel costumes purchased from a store (editor’s note: there are giant squirrel costumes available? Someone please do a Hundred Acre Wood group costume next year…) and little Charlotte in a homemade jacket labeled “ANIMAL CONTROL” and a net in her mouth, chasing the humans-squirrels around.

“It just came to me. We’re always in the park and she does like chasing squirrels,” explained Christian of the costume’s origin story. “Her favorite thing to do really is to come to this park. That and sitting on the couch.”

Still, their creativity didn’t strike them as award-winning material, admitted Katie, who said “we thought it would be cool to get in the top 15, but we didn’t think we would and my mom is gonna be really proud.”

Even better, though, is that this team win is just the latest in what Katie calls “the best year ever.

“We got engaged, got her from a breeder in Kentucky, and now we won,” she chuckled. “Now we have to up our game next year and defend our crown!”

“Animal Control” had tough competition from the dozens of other contestants, which included a piano pup, three-headed dog Cerberus, several Donald Trumps, Day Of The Dead-themed costumes, sushi and taco dogs, and even a Lion-Witch-and-The-Wardrobe group costume.

Congratulations and good luck to the happy family!