Last night Cara suggested that we head downtown for the annual doggie parade, aptly named "Mardi Growl". "The parade starts at 11am," she said. "Hmmm," I thought. I was planning on shooting hoops with my classmates starting at 10. Taking note of my hesitation, Cara quickly suggested, "you can play basketball for 45 minutes or so and we'll head straight there a little bit late." I thought this sounded fair, so I agreed. As it turns out, my knee was not feeling up to par this morning so I scratched basketball altogether and off to the parade we went.
The dog parade was truly a sight to behold. Led by the grand marshal, Marley (well, the dog's real name isn't really Marley, it's Rudy, but he was one of the 18 dogs who played Marley in the hit movie "Marley and Me"), the dogs were eager to strut their stuff. And when I say dogs, I mean lots of dogs! Last year over 350 dogs turned out for the parade.We thought we might be a little odd, showing up to a dog parade without a dog. But we happily met our friends, Mike and Jennifer who brought along their two daughters and their golden retriever, Molly. Molly got a lot of attention as she recently became a 3-legged dog due to bone cancer and is still undergoing chemotherapy.
Since it was Mardi Growl, dogs (and sometimes owners) were decked out in costume. The winner for best costume definitely deserved the prize:
We, as Zags, love Bulldogs and they were definitely out today! Here's one that was crammed into a stroller and looking quite cute and pathetic all at the same time.
And introducing the rest of the cast...
The Shagmiester
The Sass-ma-tass
The Prim & Proper Pup
The Pimped Out Ride
A Hot Dog
One HUGE pug (I call him "Pugs Mahone")
AND we couldn't pass up a picture of a cute, decked out boxer pup!
After the dog show, we enjoyed a delicious Southwestern feast at Moe's and then spent the afternoon out and about around Knoxville (which was quite eventful - more on this later!!) Overall, the dog show was a blast and it definitely helped to maintain our excitement for adding a cute little four-legged friend to our family in the not-to-distant future!!
And speaking of Mardi Growl/Gras; Lent starts soon! We're giving up sweets for Lent! What are you giving up?
