Dogs parade at Rio Carnival as their owners protest against animal cruelty

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Dozens of dogs dressed as alligators, fairies and superheroes gathered Saturday at a Rio de Janeiro Carnival street party as their owners protested cruelty against pets. The canines wagged their tails to samba music, ate a delicious breakfast from several bowls and made new friends at the so-called Blocao, a traditional event during Brazil's biggest bash.

About 300 people and their pets gathered in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca, on Rio’s west side. They sang and danced to old-style Carnival songs as their pets kept their paws protected in the shade as Rio's thermometers marked 30 Celsius degrees (86 Fahrenheit).

“Dogs are a part of our families. Families come to a street party for dogs because it's sweet, it is joyful and loving,” said Marco Antonio Marinho, 72, the Blocao's chief organizer. “When we are sad at home, they are by our side, they are sad too," he said. "Now that we are happy, they have to be happy too. So we take care of their paws, we keep water for them to be comfortable and safe too.”

A hydration station helped keep the dogs' energy through the two hours of the street celebration at a square, as many cariocas, as Rio residents are known, honked their cars to show support for the dogs and to owners protesting violence against pets. In previous years, the dogs would parade through the streets, but their gentle paws were often scorched by the hot pavement.

The name Blocao is a mixture of “bloco,” which means Carnival street party, and “cao,” or dog in Portuguese. The street party has taken place for more than 20 years.

Marinho and other partygoers waved white ribbons and sang a song in a tribute to Orelha, a dog that was killed in southern Brazil in January in a case that caused national rage.

Santa Catarina state police charged a 15-year-old who allegedly spanked the dog to death but authorities have recommended the teenager be tried under the juvenile corrections system. The judge in the case has yet to rule.

The teenager's lawyer denied any wrongdoing, .

Natalia Reis, 28, came to Blocao for the first time with her 11-year-old dog Theo, partly because of Orelha's killing. She had tears in her eyes when organizers took the microphone to talk about the importance of protecting pets from cruelty.

“This was so unfortunate, we need perpetrators of his death to be punished,” Reis said. “We need to raise awareness. This could have happened to me, to any of us.”

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A dog wears a lion's mane headpiece during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A dog wears a cardboard soccer net costume during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

pet owners show off their dogs at the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

Owners and their pets pose for a photo at the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A dog wears a police costume during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A dog wears a Hulk mask during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A dog confronts another dog during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A dog wears a Wonder Woman costume during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A dog wears a crown during the "Blocao" Carnival dog parade in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

MUNICH (AP) — Some 200,000 people demonstrated Saturday against Iran's government on the sidelines of a gathering of world leaders in Germany, police said, answering a call from Iran ’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi for cranked up international pressure on Tehran.

Banging drums and chanting for regime change, the giant and boisterous rally in Munich was part of what Pahlavi described as a “global day of action" to support Iranians in the wake of deadly nationwide protests. He also called for demonstrations in Los Angeles and Toronto. The police estimate of 200,000 protesters in Munich was reported by German news agency dpa and was higher than organizers had expected.

“Change, change, regime change” the huge crowd chanted, waving green-white-and-red flags with lion and sun emblems. Iran used that flag before its 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the Pahlavi dynasty.

At a news conference on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich, Pahlavi warned of more deaths in Iran if “democracies stand by and watch" following Iran’s deadly crackdown on protesters last month.

“We gather at an hour of profound peril to ask: Will the world stand with the people of Iran?” he asked.

He added that the survival of Iran's government “sends a clear signal to every bully: kill enough people and you stay in power.”

At the Munich rally, demonstrators sported “Make Iran Great Again" red caps, mimicking the MAGA caps worn by U.S. President Donald Trump 's supporters. Many waved placards showing Pahlavi, some that called him a king. The son of Iran’s deposed shah has been in exile for nearly 50 years but is trying to position himself as a player in Iran’s future.

The crowd chanted “Pahlavi for Iran,” and “democracy for Iran" as drums and cymbals sounded.

“We have huge hopes and (are) looking forward that the regime is going to change hopefully,” said Daniyal Mohtashamian, a demonstrator who traveled from Zurich, in Switzerland, to speak for protesters inside Iran who faced repression.

“There is an internet blackout and their voices are not going outside of Iran,” he said.

About 500 protesters also rallied outside the presidential palace in Nicosia, Cyprus, with many holding up banners with slogans against Iran's government and in favor of Pahlavi.

On Saturday night in Iran’s capital, Tehran, witnesses said they heard people chanting against the country’s theocracy. The cries included “death to the dictator” and “long live the shah.” The protest came after calls from Pahlavi for people to chant against the government from their homes over the weekend.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the Munich conference, saying it was “sad to see the usually serious Munich Security Conference turned into the ‘Munich Circus’ when it comes to Iran.”

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says at least 7,005 people were killed in last month's protests, including 214 government forces. It has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists inside Iran to verify deaths.

Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

Iranian leaders are facing renewed pressure from Trump, who has threatened U.S. military action. Trump wants Iran to further scale back its nuclear program. He suggested Friday that regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen."

Iran was also the focus of protests in Munich on Friday, the opening day of an annual security conference in the city gathering European leaders and global security figures. Supporters of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, demonstrated.

Associated Press journalists John Leicester in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed.

Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi stand under a huge historic Iranian flag as they attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Iranian Shah, attends a press conference at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday Feb. 14, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Supports of Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi attend a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, show posters of people, they said was killed during the protests in Iran, at a demonstration during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, takes part at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Supporters of the Iranian opposition organisation People's Mujahedeen Organisation of Iran, PMOI, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, MEK, attend a protest during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)