Scenes (& Sketches!) From The Great PUPkin 2014

This past Saturday was Fort Greene PUPS’ 16th Annual Great PUPkin, and we got the privilege of being one of the judges! 124 entrants competed against each other for the title of top dog — and with room for only 20 finalists and three placing pups, the decisions were grueling ones.

Luckily, we were joined at the judges’ table by music journalist Amy Linden, graffiti pioneer Lee Quinones, Mike Preis of Chuck & Buddah’s Pet Services, and Wine Enthusiast’s Joseph Hernandez, who were all appropriately discerning while we were busy trying not to explode with happiness.

We got a ton of great shots from the event and neighbor Carly Larsson sent over her fabulous gestural illustrations of several adorable contestants, so we’ve got a lot of eye candy for you — plus some observations from the judges’ table for those who plan to compete next year. Whether or not you made it to Saturday’s PUPkin, let us know what you think!

Emcee Justine Keefe (above) kept the crowd properly riled, while Fort Greene PUPS’ Kath Hansen (below) took a break from Ghostbustin’ to pose with her Stay Puft marshmallow man, also known as Bob.

Is it back to school time yet? Because we want a folder with Lisa Frank-endog on it.

We’ve actually never seen anyone look so good in metallic American Apparel anything as this Jeff Koons-esque critter does.

A tourist in Central Park (with exasperated busy New Yorker in tow).

Who needs wings when you’ve got those ears?

Team “Barking Bad.”

Two players and a total baller.

“The morning after Mardi Gras.”

Super ferocious wooly mammoth.

“How does that make you feeeeeeeel?” – Therapy Dog

“Oh, him? I thought he was a bug bite for the longest, and then one day, BOOM! Eyes, ears, and a nose.”

Brooklyn Bridge dog.

Little Bo Peep and her hand-crocheted sheep (no Gwyneth, you may not use that as the title of your first children’s book).

Ruth Barker Ginsburg/Ruth Bader Ginsbark?

We’re not normally big on ice cream sandwiches, but this one looks delicious.

“Alter cocker”-poo.

The dog who was born to be an AT-AT…

… and in other Star Wars costume news, Princess Leia said she made this Ewok costume the night before the contest!

Chia Pets would probably still be a craze if they all looked this handsome.

Out of the 124 teams who strutted their stuff in the first round, 20 were called to the stage for the finals — at which point the captivated crowd (look at those faces in the front row!) chose their top three. By applause, third place honors went to Devo dog, second place to the G train/shuttle, and first place to Ira Glass dog.

Plan to participate in next year’s PUPkin? Here’s some criteria worth considering for your (and, of course, your dog’s) costumes:

Wordplay. “Therapy dog,” “Pup O’ Noodles,” and “Shih Tzu in a toilet,” among others, received a good response for their pun-iness.

Doing it yourself. The man who knit that Dogzilla costume didn’t just deserve a prize — he deserved a medal and extensive physical therapy on the house.

Human schtick. All of the above criteria have exceptions, but this is a particularly nuanced issue. Cute kids are always a crowd (and a personal) favorite, though at least one judge in particular repeatedly cautioned saps like us not to buy into such a “cheap ploy.” While on the one hand, adults got props for dressing up and getting into character with their strongly-outfitted dogs, there was some concern about costumes that seemingly relied on the humans, not the dogs, to garner interest the first place. Humans (adult ones, in particular) are sidekicks, not heroes — got it? Yeah, us neither.

Cultural significance, be it the evergreen Brooklyn-rooted roar of laughter the G train received when it turned into a shuttle bus (the Bridge got plenty of love too), the eye-rolling recognition of the very “now” Selfie, Photoshopped Beyonce, or “Fifty Shades of Grey” dog, or the esoteric minded enthusiasm of Devo dog fans (“Portlandia’s” Lance and Nina may have proved a bit too new to the canon for this year’s audience, but hey, maybe in 2015). Actually, we’d argue this is the one thing all three winners had going for them, because c’mon, Brooklyn. Ira Glass!

Poor Lance, always subject to Nina’s changing whims.

(This pug lion destined for Instagram, alternatively, could have been a sort of meta costume of the Pomeranian in the selfie costume.)

Some dogs also received ample praise from fellow judges, even if they didn’t receive a unanimous “yes” vote, simply for their “good dog”-iness. Cuteness certainly doesn’t hurt (baby Frenchie “Christmas ham,” anyone? And could a dog like the one above look bad in anything?), and mummy dog below got major points for, well, smiling and wagging through all of those knots. That said, we were also pretty taken with the rebellious strawberry who did not want a stem anymore.

Finally, after we learned that the two Liberace dogs at the PUPkin weren’t a planned team but an impromptu one, we thought of which other dogs might have made for great combinations, too — fish dog and shark dog, for instance, or “downward dog” and kale dog. Banding together could prove to be a successful strategy, with the convenient side effect of meeting your neighbors and their pooches.

So, who was your favorite at this year’s PUPkin? Did you think any teams deserved to be in the finals or top three who didn’t get there — or were any of the top three not quite your cup of tea? And finally, what’s your judging criteria?

All illustrations © Carly Larsson (see more at her awesome blog!)