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Eight years old and up category First-place winner Melanie Aparicio dressed as a Mexican Catrina celebrating the Day of the Dead with second place winner Draven Patterson as Patch the Dalmatian and CJ Stafford as a SWAT team member. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Overall winner: Buster Brown, dressed as a carrot, with owner Kari Carter; second-place winner: Chief dressed as Thing 2 with owner Kelsey Hubbard; Harper Hubbard as Thing 1, and first-place winner Sadie May as Daddy's Little Angel with owner Chris Davenport. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Under 8 years old category second-place winner Jillian Hall as a mermaid with third-place winner Jayson Dobbs, dressed as a character from the Paw Patrol, and first-place winner Harper Hubbard dressed as Thing 1. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Sully Nicholas and Wesley Holmes play bingo. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Chilton County Human Society staff Vanessa Gold, Amy Nicholas and Brandi Murr ran the Shelter's booth at the event. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Sara Beth Huntley runs a game with Daniel at Bark in the Park. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Ben Nicholas holds scooter, a shelter pet that is ready for adoption, at Bark in the Park. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Kendra McClair holds her dog dressed as Rapunzel.

Dyson Dempsey, Jennifer Aird, Chris Aird, Kim Martin and Brooklysn Keenum pose with their dogs during Bark in the Park. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

Logan Wilson and Ava Adams enjoy Bark in the Park. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

William Dennis pets a shelter dog. (JOYANNA LOVE/ ADVERTISER)

By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

It was a fun-filled day for four-footed and two-footed Chilton County residents alike at Bark in The Park on Oct. 21.

The event is an annual fundraiser for the Chilton County Humane Society.

Costume contests for children and dogs were a highlight of the event. Each contest was judged by the Miss Chilton County Queens.

In the 8 years old and older category, Melanie Aparicio, dressed as a Mexican Catrina celebrating the Day of the Dead, won first place and a $50 prize.

“It’s just a Mexican tradition … It honors people that have died in your family,” Aparicio said of the Day of the Dead.

She said her dad helped her with the costume.

Aparicio said she was happy to win and plans to spend the money on her family.

CJ Stafford, dressed as a SWAT team caption, placed third.

Draven Patterson, dressed as Patch the Dalmatian, placed second. Patterson said his family helped him assemble the costume. He said he likes Patch “because he’s different from the other ones” because he has a black patch on his eye.

A Cut Above, pet grooming, also donated prizes for the children contests.

Ben Nicholas emceed the contests keeping the crowd entertained with his description of each character.

“What’s your favorite thing about being out of the ocean for a day?” Nicholas asked a girl dressed as a mermaid.

Her answer was that she gets to see things she could not see in the ocean.

During the dog costume contest, Buster Brown, owned by Kari Carter, was dressed as a carrot and won best overall.

Chris Davenport’s Sadie May won first place, dressed as Daddy’s Little Angel.

Second place went to Chief, dressed as Thing 2 from Dr. Seuss. Kelsey Hubbard showed the dog, while holding Harper Hubbard, dressed as Thing 1.

Harper also won first place in the young children’s costume contest.

Humane Society president Katherine Reece said she enjoyed seeing the “innovative ways people come up with of dressing their dogs up.”

Kamp Crazy Bones, dog grooming and boarding, donated the prizes for each of the dogs.

In the under 8 years old contest, Jillian Hall, dressed as a mermaid, won second place.

Jayson Dobbs, dressed as a character from the Paw Patrol, won third place.

Bama Breeze provided musical entertainment.

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