It was a downtown romp last night as dozens of dogs, cats, and even one ferret descended upon a parking lot at 707 N. Senate Ave. Indy Pride’s second-annual Pet Pride event drew more than 500 (human) attendees, up from about 320 last year in its first inception.
Three awards were doled out, for Most Couture, Most Creative, and Pet/Owner Look-alike. All the winners are pictured at right. Lola, a bull-terrier mix, took Most Creative; Chewy the bulldog took Pet/Owner Look-alike with his owners Alex and Audrey in superhero garb; and Most Couture went to Topaz, a standard poodle whose attire featured pearls adorning her neck.
>> MORE: See photos of the event here.
Lola herself is an adoptable dog currently housed by Mended Hearts Indy, one of seven adoption groups represented at the event. (For the full list of partipating agencies, click here.) Adoptable pups were already spayed and neutered and were and are available for just $100, a relative steal in the world of pets.
“I knew this would be double the size [of last year’s turnout],” says Stephanie Swanson, chair of Circle City IN Pride. “We’re all connected by animals, and the focus is on them. This really changes the scope of the outreach that we do with our events.”
Local media and dog-care celebrities judged the competition, including IM‘s own style reporter Leslie Bailey. Drag performer Asia LaBouche was also on hand to take photos on the red carpet with the many mutts and felines and all in between.
Photos by Meredith Cohen and Jonathan Scott
