Reigning as King Barkus VII: a 10-month old silver-gray Weimaraner named Madison Goulue Wilbar. His queen is Hero, a two-and-a-half-year-old whippet who was abused as a puppy. She was described in her official press release as having "a nose any anteater wold be proud of, ears that would shame a carriage mule and protruding eyes that bring Bette Davis to mind."

According to The New York Times, which featured Barkus on the front page of the National section, "She arrived fashionably late in the back seat of a shiny green BMW convertible that rolled into Louis Armstrong Park [the staging area for the parade] behind a roaring escort of police motorcycles. She looked positively elegant in a black velvet cape and a gold lame Norma Desmond top knot with her title, 'Queen,' spelled out in shimmering stones."

As the old saying goes, every dog has his (or her) day.