SLIDE SHOW: Local Canines Compete at Downtown Dog Show

Vying for a trophy in the "Best Trick" category at the Downtown Dog Show in Bogardus Plaza, Rotli gives a high-five to owner Kunal Patel. Photo: Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

Local dogs had their day at the second annual Downtown Dog Show on Sunday, hosted by Friends of Bogardus Plaza.

Canine lovers packed the plaza at Reade and Chambers streets in Tribeca to watch some 70 contestants compete in 10 decidedly non-Westminster-type categories, such as Senior Superstar, Precious Puppy, and Waggiest Tail. Top three winners in each contest received trophies.

The number of contestants nearly doubled this year, aided by an aggressive “recruiting” campaign by the show’s organizers, Friends of Bogardus Plaza president Victoria Weil, and its vice president, Andrea Pivnick. “If you weren’t wearing ear pods and you’re walking [with a dog] around Tribeca you probably got a flier,” said Pivnick, who had the idea for the show.

Photos by Carl Glassman/Tribeca Trib

It took 18 volunteers to pull off such an ambitious event. “We recruited everybody and their teenage child,” said Weil, the show’s emcee.

Participants paid $15 for each competition they entered and Weil estimated that the volunteer group, which is responsible for maintaining the plaza and running events there, cleared around $1,500. 

“This is not a big fundraiser for us,” Weil said. “It’s really a community builder.”