Scenes from the Kids Pet Parade

The annual Kids Pet Parade presented by the San Juan Capistrano Fiesta Association was held on this sunny Sunday at Los Rios Park in San Juan Capistrano with plenty of spectators to watch the undeniably adorable and exciting competition.

With 30 participants -- from a 2-year-old up to 12-years-old -- there was surely an expansive array of animals in tow. Everything from a 32-pound cat to a pint-sized chihuahua competed in five categories, including domestic, barn, exotic birds, exotic and team costume.

A resident of San Juan Capistrano for 42 years, Annabelle Isky, commented, “The parade has been going on for as long as I can remember and this is my seventeenth year. We have had such a variety of different animals here. It’ll be a lot of fun!”

There were kids dressed up as different characters or themes; there even was an entire family of kids and pets dressed up as the cast of Disney’s Frozen.

Girl Scout Troup 781 was on hand to walk the animals around the trail. 

The parade went on with each contestant answering questions asked from the MC in front of the judges, Carolyn Franks from Zoomars and John Gillotti from Mission Grill, and in front of the whole crowd.

A new addition to the San Juan Capistrano community, Mark, said, “This was my first year of going to the Pet Parade, and it was so much fun I can’t wait to go back next year!”

Full List of the Winners:

Exotic:  

1st: Celeste W. with 2 Leopard Geckos

Bird:  

1st:  Brayden & Sam with Sweetie the Silky Chicken

Farm/Barn: 

1st:  Samantha Borsellino and her chicken, Clara 

2nd: Gianna Plaitano and her guinea pig, Ballet

House/Domestic:  

1st:  Ava Rowall and her dog, Sofie 

2nd Tie:  Serra and her MainCoon Cat, Darby & Sofia Borsellino and 2 dogs (Cocoa & Amy)

3rd Tie: Sam & Brayden and their dog Zoe, & Angelina Rodrigo and her Sphinx Cat, Phoebe 4th Noelle Haney & her dog Nero.

Judges Choice:  Noelle Haney and dog Nero (dressed as butterfly)