Animal magnetism was the concept of the day Saturday as the 31st annual Worth Avenue Pet Parade and Costume Contest unfolded on Via Amore.
Dogs, cats and other pets were on display on a warm and sunny late winter day, dressed in showy finery — as were some of their owners — and competing for the chance to be top critter in several categories.
The contest is sponsored by the Worth Avenue Association. Unusual pets this year included Mona Lisa the pig, owned by Nick Adams of Palm Beach; Seek, a bunny rabbit owned by Kim Dryer of Palm Beach; two bearded dragons from West Palm Beach, and two Norwegian cats from Miami Beach.
Although this was a fun event for all, it was still a contest. And you can’t have a contest without winners, so here they are:
In the Large Pet category (36 lbs. and up), the four winners were dogs. Best in Show went to Beau, a 3-year-old mix owned by Kim Charlton of Palm Beach. Freddie, a 9-month-old Weimaraner owned by Tammy Borg of Jupiter, took home the Most Creative prize. The Most Unique honor went to two Weimaraners, Lisa Marie and Presley, owned by Mickey McRacken and Dan Lackey of Nokomis, and Humphrey, a 13-year-old bassett hound owned by Vick Exnicios of Palm Beach Gardens, was named Most Obedient.
In the Medium category (15 to 36 lbs): Best in Show was won by Bogey, an 8-year-old Portuguese water dog owned by Holli Weber of Tequesta. Ghost, a 5-year-old Huskimo owned by Palm Beacher Elizabeth Ailes, was named Most Creative, and Most Unique went to Gracie, an 8-year-ol American Eskimo owned by JoAnna Lombardi of Southbury, Conn. Most Obedient was shared by an 8-year-old ragdoll cat named Marshmallow and a 6-year-old Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix named Sandie, both owned by Anna Yap of Port St. Lucie.
Finally, the Small category (under 15 lbs.) saw Tallulah, a 6-old Yorkshire terrier owned Scott and Sherrie Smith of Clermont, take Best in Show. Most Creative went to Princess Leia, a 13-year-old Shih Tzu owned by Rosemary Bellinger of Palm Beach. Babe and Billy Paley, 3- and 1-year-old toy poodles from Palm Beach, were named Most Unique, and Most Obedient was won by Rowan, a 4-year-old Yorkie owned by Nic Breeding of West Palm Beach.
