Pets and chili take the stage

The Laguna Board of Realtors’ 11th annual Pet Parade/Chili Cook-Off boasted eight chili booths, seven vendor booths and 114 pets registered under seven different categories, according to Stephanie Lennon, executive vice president.

The event took place Sept. 9 at Tivoli Too. Caroline Haines and Marcus Skenderian chaired the event and many volunteers helped make it happen.

A new category this year was Most Beautiful Rescue Pet, which turned out to be the most popular category of all, according to Lennon.

The winners for this group was “Kindy,” a mix lab/Pomeranian and “Sadie,” a red bone coon hound.

The first place winner for Most Handsome Male went to “Barkley,” a golden retriever and second place was “Jedi,” a Standard Poodle.

The Prettiest Female was “Julie,” a Pomeranian; and second place was “Annie,” an American cocker spaniel.

The Cutest Baby Pet award went to “Lucky,” a King Charles spaniel, while “Ernie,” a pomshizo, came in second. “Schooner,” a border collie, proved to be the Most Talented of the group, with “Wiki,” a West Highland terrier, coming in a close second.

Two “Chloes,” one a Chihuahua and one a dachshund, won first and second place, respectively, for the best costume. The Most Gorgeous Senior Pet went to “Caper,” a Weimaraner who is 12 years old, while “Archie,” a 10-year-old Scottie, took second place.

In the chili competition, themes ranged from Ruby’s Diner to 70s Peace People to a Rain Forest.

Team Laguna won first place with a Hawaiian theme, West Coast Escrow/Equity Title came in second with a pirate theme, and First Team Nolan took third place as Ruby’s Diner, with everyone dressed in the ‘50s style.

The best chili of the day went to The Shop; West Coast Escrow/Equity Title took second and First Team Nolan came in third. Laguna Seaside won the People’s Choice Award.