The 10th annual Castleton Pet Parade took place on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
The annual event lets owners bring out their furry friends to walk along the streets of Castleton, north of Colborne.
This was the first year organizers can remember of a snowfall taking place during the walk.
The parade kicked off shortly after 2 p.m. from Northumberland Hills Public School with a long line of all sorts of animals taking part.
Cramahe Township Mayor Mandy Martin attends the event every year.
“It’s so wonderful. I just followed the sheep in and they think I’m one of them,” said Martin who was dressed appropriately for the pet parade.
With animals “near and dear” to everyone’s heart, it was a perfect afternoon for the parade with a steady snowfall.
Committee member Ingrid Schumacher Anderson said there was a wide variety of animals taking part including 110 dogs, cats, sheep, goats, horses, mini-horses, and even a duck.
Although the parade takes part in Castleton, people came from as far as Peterborough and Belleville for the event.
Other than Santa, it was 11-year-old Charlie Vrana and her seven-month-old duck named Ace who seemed to get the most attention along the parade route.
Charlie has raised Ace from an egg and at first Ace was in a Milwaukee heated sweater at first, but it didn’t take long before Charlie was holding Ace who seemed to enjoy meeting people.
Along the route a group of people were singing Christmas carols from a pickup truck leading the parade.
The parade was free but donations were accepted for both K9Crusaders and Sherri’s Ferals Northumberland.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
