Portsmouth dog owner takes part in Christmas-themed pageant

Dogs and their owners from across the UK – including Portsmouth – have taken part in a Christmas-themed pageant in West Yorkshire, with the dogs being judged on their festive outfits.
Ted the Pug dresses as a Gingerbread Man, during the Victorian Christmas themed Furbabies Dog Pageant at Collingham Memorial Hall, Leeds. Picture date: Sunday December 5, 2021. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire Ted the Pug dresses as a Gingerbread Man, during the Victorian Christmas themed Furbabies Dog Pageant at Collingham Memorial Hall, Leeds. Picture date: Sunday December 5, 2021. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire
Ted the Pug dresses as a Gingerbread Man, during the Victorian Christmas themed Furbabies Dog Pageant at Collingham Memorial Hall, Leeds. Picture date: Sunday December 5, 2021. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

The theme for this year’s Furbabies Pageant, in Collingham, was Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

The event’s director, 65-year-old Philip Hodgkins from Leeds, told the PA news agency that people and their dogs had travelled from as far afield as Portsmouth to attend the event.

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He added that approximately 90 dogs had come along. ‘There are all different breeds, from Afghan hounds, right down to Chihuahuas,’ he said.

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‘We’ve got pugs, we’ve got Chihuahuas, we’ve got beagles, we’ve got Afghans, we’ve got springer spaniels, we’ve got whippets… we’ve got everything.

Mr Hodgkins and his team of volunteers organised the event, which was first held in 2019.

The pageant sees dogs dressed according to the theme, with the outfits assessed by a team of judges.

‘They come and parade up and down the red carpet, in front of some judges, and the judges judge them as they see fit,’ Mr Hodgkins explains.