Canines in Costume: Dog Days' Finale

Red Bank is animal friendly. That's the message that Mayor Pat Menna wants to impart.

So, in line with his oft-expressed sentiment, he started Dog Days of Summer, a dog-friendly event the purpose of which is twofold: to create a social environment for dogs and their owners in downtown Red Bank once a month; and to boost business on slower Tuesday nights.

He feels that the inaugural event, which has closed off Monmouth Street to traffic for a few hours once a month, has been met with such success that he even added a canine contingent to the borough's annual Halloween parade. And that theme will be woven through to the final Dog Days on Tuesday —  a dog Halloween costume party from 5 to 9 p.m.

The mayor has not yet revealed what his dog Bella will dress as, but he and his best friend will be there as usual, as long as the weather cooperates for Bella, who is a senior.

In other areas of animal protection, the mayor has spearheaded the introduction and ultimate passing by council of resolutions and ordinance amendments related to animal laws.

Recently, council adopted an amendment to be a part of the Trap, Neuter, Return policy backed by the SPCA concerning feral cats, because "it's just the most humane thing to do," the mayor had said. The cats, rather than being sent to high-kills shelters, are trapped, neutered and returned to their natural habitat to live in their naturally occurring colonies where someone watches over them outdoors.

And, he even stood up for the rights of pigs with the passing of a resolution that was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie to protect pigs from being crated in tiny spaces for their entire lives, until it's time for slaughter.

"In the avant garde field of animal protection issues … because we believe that animals are parts of our family … for some people, pigs are part of their family, whether we like it or not," the mayor said at a recent meeting.

"Anyway, this deals with commercial pigs. The legislature overwhelmingly voted to ban the procedure of pig crating — a system used by pig farms mostly in midwest where a piglet is born and kept in a very confined space from time of birth to time of (slaughter) … It's offensive to treat animals like this."

So, in celebration of animal rights to celebrate holidays as well, the final Dog Days will see canines in costume.