Humane Society Pet Show Features Doggie Fashions By Mike Shands This weekend’s Watauga Humane Society Pet Show will feature some real dogs on the fashion show runway. Any donations made during the Watauga Humane Society’s Ninth Annual Pet Show will help animals at the humane society’s shelter. These hairy models will have big noses, floppy ears and wagging tails, and they are sure to have audience members howling and panting with enthusiasm. They will participate in a doggie fashion show that will precede the humane society’s ninth annual Pet Show Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Boone Mall. Registration for the pet show will begin at 10:30 a.m., followed by the doggie fashion show at 11 a.m. and the pet show at 11:30 a.m. with cats going first. The Barking Rock Boutique will hold the doggie fashion show featuring canine models strutting their stuff in the latest fashions. “We’ve only done this one time before at a Blowing Rock pet show,” said Lisa Carlson, co-owner of The Barking Rock, which is located in Blowing Rock. “We will be previewing some of the clothing we carry to give people an idea of what we have at the shop.” Many of those items are handmade and include doggie coats, vests and harnesses plus sporting items such as doggie backpacks. Carlson said the fashion show will feature her three dogs plus those of some of the shop’s patrons. “We have one dog called Happy who just loves the runway,” she said. The Barking Rock will also hold a raffle for three gift certificates to the shop with proceeds benefiting the humane society. A celebration of pets, the pet show is open to any animal that owners can bring in and control safely. There will be a wide variety of prize categories, and every participant will receive a ribbon. There is no fee to enter the pet show, but the humane society welcomes donations that will enable it to continue to care for the High Country’s homeless and unwanted animals. All pets in the show must be on a leash or in a carrier and under control at all times. Parents should accompany their young children. Boone Mall, MTN, The Barking Rock and the humane society are sponsoring the pet show, which will feature Tim Baxter as emcee. Judges will include Chilton Rogers, Dee Dundon and Mike Shands. Dundun, who helped create the pet show, retired last October after 18 years as the humane society’s president. “I love seeing the people with their pets and how proud they are and how happy they are and how much they love them,” she said. “Probably a good 60 percent of those pets are from our shelter or animal control.” She said some of the humane society’s previous pet shows have featured as many as 60 animals. “There’s a lot of excitement for it this year,” Dundon said. “The fashion show adds a new dimension, and I think a lot of people are going to come because of that. “We also want to thank the mall. They’re always so good to us.” A dog trainer for 13 years, Rogers has also volunteered for the humane society as a dog trainer for seven years. Shands is an animal lover who has three cats and has written articles about the humane society since joining “The Mountain Times” almost six years ago. For more information call Debra Grosswald at (828) 264-6797, the humane society’s shelter at (828) 264-7865 or look online at www.wataugahumanesociety.org.