Any Rose Parade aficianado will tell you: The important people behind America’s favorite New Year’s Day tradition all wear uniforms.
There’s the bright white suits worn by the myriad Tournament of Roses volunteers who hold back crowds and escort floats down 5.5 miles of Colorado Boulevard.
There’s the dingy white jumpsuits worn by the “pooper scoopers” who clean up after the equestrian acts.
There’s the red coat worn by the Tournament of Roses president who knows a full eight years before what’s in store.
And, for the first time, for the 2024 Rose Parade, there’s a bespoke white satin coat worn by a chocolate Labrador retriever named Murphy. The beloved and soulful family pet is scheduled to ride high aboard a double-decker Omnibus wearing a custom-made jacket.
And, with such a swanky uniform, Murphy, is sure to steal the show.
Murphy Aghajanian, 5, didn’t ask to be named “First Dog,” but he also didn’t object when owner and Tournament of Roses President Alex Aghajanian presented him with the idea.
Afterall, there have been pooches in the parade before.
In 2017, eight canine surfers performed on the Lucy Pet Foundation Rose Parade Float. They rode waves in a 75-foot-long semi-trailer filled with 5,000 gallons of water. The float set records as the longest and heaviest float in the Rose Parade.
In 2009, two skateboarding bulldogs showed their stuff on a Natural Balance Rose Parade Float.
But those, and most others, are dogs on floats.
As far as Tournament of Roses officials can tell, Murphy will be the first “First Dog” to ride in an official Rose Parade vehicle in its 135-year history. Tournament of Roses President Libby Evans Wright, in 2006, had plans to include her dog as dignitary in the parade, Aghajanian said, but that pup pulled out due to the rain that year.
Alex Aghajanian, in addition to orchestrating his love of music as the 2024 parade theme — Celebrating a World of Music — also wanted to embody his love…
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