Who could not love Mardi Growl?

A crowd of around 500 dogs was expected, plus a few humans tethered to their leashes for the annual Mardi Growl celebration to raise money for the Young-Williams Animal Center. Despite the rain, they came out in droves or herds or packs - that's it packs, right? Some of them even had real-live Mardi Gras floats in which they cruised through the parade.

Unfortunately, this day was a work day for me, so I missed it, but my good friend and reader-of-my-blog-beyond-all-reasonable-expectations, Kevin, was kind enough to brave the rain with his camera just so I could give you an idea of what the event is like. In addition to a parade from the Dog Park to Market Square, booths were set up to give out treats and to promote canine-related services and the Old City Buskers provided a festive ragtime beat.

Not only did dogs get into the festive theme, many people dressed up in their best Mardi Gras attire, as well. I'm not naming photographs for this statement, but let me just say that the old idea about the owner and the pet resembling really resonates for me in one of these pictures. Which human do you think most resembles his or her canine companion?

I know it is a larger number than I usually post, but I figured animal lovers can't get too much of this kind of thing  - thanks, again, to Kevin.