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N1: Nearly 200 dogs will march in this year's Lunar New Year parade, each wearing a silk outfit imitating traditional, high-collared, Chinese dress. Pets often march with their owners here. But what makes THESE dogs special is that most are rescued. This is the first time in the parade's seven-year history that dogs will be there for a REASON …to be adopted.
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Six shelters - and their dogs - will be participating in the event. The coalition that connects them all is the Mayor's Alliance for New York City's Animals. Steve Gruber is their Communications Director. He says the presence of these dogs at the parade is priceless.
A1 (GRUBER): It can help to change people's perceptions about shelter animals and rescue animals. Some people might think, they ended up in a shelter, something must be wrong with them, they're damaged…they come with in their baggage, but the baggage is a lot of times: they know all the rules, you know, and it's nice.
N2: Last year, more than forty-thousand animals wound up in New York City's shelters. More than half had to be euthanized for the simple reason that the shelters ran out of space. Gruber's group is working to make killing unwanted animals a thing of the past. Along with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, they have set a goal to make New York a "no-kill" city by 2008. So advocating animal adoption is key.
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A lifelong animal lover, Patrick Kwan is also the event's promoter. He came up with the idea to include rescued dogs in this year's parade.
A2 (KWAN): It started, like: why don't we do something that can also help the animals who are in the shelters, and with so many animals in shelters who need homes, this is a great opportunity for them to get the exposure. And really, you know, if one animal got adopted out of this, I think we'll be very happy.
N3: More than three-hundred-thousand New Yorkers attended the parade last year. Even more are expected this year. With that many people, Kwan sees this as an easy way to put the spotlight on the city's overlooked shelters. Especially in this Year of the Dog, which only comes around once every 12 years.
A3 (KWAN): In Chinese culture, dogs are actually considered lucky, so, I mean, having a bunch of dogs run around into Chinatown, it sounds pretty exciting and a great part of the parade. You know, not only will they come to Chinatown and bring some luck to Chinatown, but hopefully they'll have some luck into finding some homes themselves.
N4: And home is a big part of it. Lunar New Year is traditionally a very family-oriented holiday. People meet, they eat, they laugh, they wish each other health and prosperity. The two-week celebration is a time to come together with friends and loved ones. And as Steve Gruber puts it, a time to welcome new friends, as well.
A4 (GRUBER): If people and families are making fresh starts for the new year, how wonderful to share that than with a dog who also wants to make a fresh start?
N5: Lunar New Year represents a time to cast off bad habits and start good ones. The Year of the Dog is said to bring harmony to home life. This balance can comes in many forms - eating right, slowing down…or taking a nice long walk with a new friend.
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Megan Hauser, Columbia Radio News [19 sec]