Halloween at the Gun has always been a big deal, they say the pub is haunted, you have to respect that!
Over the years we have had autumn BBQs, children's parties, doughnuts on strings, apple bobbing, staff members dressed as zombie grannies, prom gone wrong, haunted cellar tours, a spooky barn experience, and last year we navigated covid restrictions by hosting a Who Gun it dinner party.
Not one to do things twice this year it was the turn of our four-legged pals! It seemed only fitting to shine some light (all be it spooky) on the furry friends who got us through lockdown and gave us a reason to get out of the house!
How did they feel about it...utter humiliation for some I do believe, but the masters really stepped up and made this event one of our all-time favorites.
Worthing's very own Cool Town crier lent his vocal talents (and by that, I mean sheer volume) to our premier dog show and we are so glad he did thanks Bob.
Local rubbish pet portrait artist Hercule Van Wolfwinkle who shot to fame drawing your pets in exchange for donations to charity "turning tides" was our judge alongside his wife Ashley and son Sam who was a great help to the event dishing out the treats for the small people dog owners.
Hercule not only judged the entrants but also donated the star prize of a Portrait of the winner! We can't express how happy we are that he and his family came along and made this wet Halloween evening a little extra special.
The effort that was made by all of our entrants was overwhelming, after all, there would have been no dog show without the dogs!
Registration was a £5 donation to Findon's local animal sanctuary PAWS which does great work in the community.
The variety of dogs was astounding from the smallest little sausage dog to the biggest beautiful Newfoundland and everything in-between, Cockerpoos, terriers, huskies, pugs, and Frenchies. One of my personal favorite team efforts was our Osbourne family and their pet dog bat Ozzy (hope he didn't get his head bitten off!)
The Gun's very own lockdown basset cross puppy Morty made a flash appearance at the very end running down the dog walk terrified dressed in a yellow raincoat with a red balloon, in hot pursuit was Pennywise, of course, he couldn't win but he did steal the show!
There were 4 categories,
Cutest won by a couple of cowboy riding pugs/Frenchies.
Best team effort won by 2 griffons 1 sheepdog/Alsatian, Ernie the Newfoundland and their children handlers (plus a few adults).
Most original won by a Margot the cocker spaniel and Purdy the Spenglar disguised as flying monkeys joined by owner Caroline in full wicked witch attire.
Spookiest (and also most appropriate for a very foodie pub) was Hendrix the cockerpoo dressed as a lobster while owner Will was channeling his inner chef....chilling! They won a kilo of sausages donated by our Jolly butchers at Peckhams, Findon.
The overall winner was chosen from the final 4 and won not only a pet portrait by Hercule Van Wolfwinkle but the coveted Grufts Trophy.
Caroline The Wicked Witch with her flying Dog Monkeys were worthy winners, can't wait to see the portrait.
A big thank you to all those who came out and dressed up (their sometimes unwilling hounds). Lovely to see a return of New day coffee club providing the perfect hot drinks and treats as well as the fabulous Team Gun who make every day at work feel more fun.
What do you think should this be an annual event? Get planning your costumes for next year....
(disclaimer- Next year we will aim to get clearer pictures of the dogs we didn't anticipate how fast they would be or how dark it was!)
