SEMO DISTRICT FAIR CONTINUES TRADITION OF PET PARADE

Jessica Davis had a difficult time coaxing her goat, Lucy, into the ring Sunday afternoon but once she did the two emerged triumphant. The goat wasn't any more compliant when it came time to take photographs, either.

Dressed in a fluorescent pink hat complete with blonde ringlets, Lucy, a 3-year-old black goat and Davis of Park Hills, Mo., pranced around the parade ring like experts Sunday afternoon during the annual pet parade at the SEMO District Fair.

There were joined by several dogs, a cat, another goat, a bird, two hermit crabs and three camels and owners of all ages. Some pet owners were so young they could barely walk their pets into the ring. A few had pets that were bigger and taller than they were. Others were pulled along by their anxious pets and still others had to coax their pets into the parade.

The entrants walked around the ring while the song "Old McDonald" played over the speakers. They pranced in front of a growing crowd at the grandstand and lined up for display while judges selected winners.

Ashlynne Shrum had no trouble carrying her hermit crabs in the parade. The creatures, Andre and Adrian, stayed inside a cage, occasionally emerging from their shells.

Caje Halbrook, 3, of Bonne Terre, Mo., dressed as a clown, along with Dottie, the dog. The pair won the award for being the jolliest entrants in the parade.

While Davis and Lucy took first place honors, all entrants placed. Awards were given for nearly every category conceivable.

The bird won "best use of feathers," while a pair of hunting dogs won "best use of camouflage" for their camouflage bandanas. One of the camels won "curliest hair on a hump" while another took the award for "biggest feet."

Carol Reiman, a former Missouri Teacher of the Year, helped judge the contest.

It was the first year that camels had entered the pet parade and that anyone other than children entered. Two adults also entered their pets in the parade, said Charles Mangels, a fair board member who served as emcee.

The parade offers children without livestock a chance to show their best, Mangels said.

"Everybody comes to the fair and shows what they've got," he said. Some of the children don't "have anything they can exhibit but they've all got pets."

The parade has been a fair tradition for 13 years.