Saturday's Pet Parade included adults dressed as ladybugs, pirates and a big black spider, marching bands, gymnasts and community clubs.

But the annual event's stars were children and their pets, mostly dogs, a few cats and a smattering of goats, hamsters, various fowl and at least one large horned lizard.

Lucy, a 4-year-old rat terrier, sat upright in a baby stroller pushed by 9-year-old Amaia Bracamontes. "She's sweet," Amaia said of her pet. "She's very loving, and she's a good size for a dog."

Amaia denied she pushed her dog around at home, but her mother, Tiffany Bracamontes, disagreed: "You do all the time."

"Sometimes, but not all the time," Amaia allowed.

"She is a baby," Tiffany said of Lucy. "Like another child."

Sophie Lepper, 11, carried Kiwi, an 11-year-old Congo African grey parrot. "She's very smart," said Sophie, who demonstrated how the bird perks up when she hears the song, "Zippedy Doo Dah."

Abigail Schiffmiller, 16, led two well-behaved goats, Kakashi and Sid, both 6-month-old neutered males who live in a pen in her family's backyard on Osage Avenue.

"We train them as pack animals," Abigail said. "We've bottle-fed them since they were 2 weeks old. ... They're a lot less maintenance than dogs. You don't really have to clean up after them because their poop is kind of innocuous. It kind of dries up into little pebbles. You don't have to take them on walks. We do because it's fun, but you don't have to."

Savannah Scarborough, 9, joined a group from Carlos Gilbert Elementary School with her 3-year-old shitsu, Princess Fiona.

Kevin Trujillo, 12, and Clarissa Trujillo, 14, and their 3-year-old St. Bernard/blue heeler mix, Shiner, marched with the Santa Fe Seals swim club from Genoveva Chavez Community Center.

Sixteen students from Nava Elementary's student council joined the parade dressed as animals from "Nava's Ark."

Another group portrayed characters from The Wizard of Oz with Serena Aguilar, 6, as Dorothy; Aspen Tafoya, 9, as the Cowardly Lion; Sierra Rodriguez, 7, as the Tinman; and two dogs, Chelo and Missy, vying for the role of Toto.

The Gonzales and Romero families of Tesuque had a "tortilla gabia," (which they described as a tortilla gang) with nine children — costumed as flour-dusted chalupas, tostadas and other Mexican staples — along with their dogs Kano, a 7-year-old German shepherd, and Cisco, a 6-month-old golden retriever/pointer.

This year's grand marshal was Jacob Chavez, 11, who led the 50-minute parade with his dog, an 8-year-old Doberman mix named Izzy, and his mother, Isela Burciaga.

"She's the greatest dog in the world," Burciaga said of Izzy.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.

PET PARADE WINNERS

Best Historical: Dia de los Muertos

Best Hysterical: Little Miss Muffet and her pet spider, Eugene

Best Original: Tortilla Gabia

Best Musical Group: Santa Fe High

Best Child-Pet Look-alike: Lady Bugs

Best Group: Zia Gymnastics

Best Message to Other Kids: Rio Grande School

Best Family Entry: SS Zozobra Pirates

Best Fiesta Theme: La Reina y su Cuadrilla

Best Storybook Character: Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Judges Meritorious Award: Willy Wonka

Judges Meritorious Award: Zozobra and Glooms

Each winner receives $100 and a plaque