More than 700 happy dogs and even more humans packed downtown Saturday for the fifth annual Mardi Growl parade and festival. Folks from the city of Knoxville’s special events office said this was the largest Mardi Growl to date. This was due partly, no doubt, to the beautiful weather.

I don’t think there was a single breed of canine that was not represented in the crowd. And I just can’t believe how responsible most of the dog owners were about picking up after their pooches. And the dogs themselves were very well-behaved, displaying few hostilities toward one another. Way to go, folks!

Mardi Growl was presented by the City of Knoxville and Friends of Young-Williams Animal Center, and event sponsors included PetSafe; Hill’s Pet Nutrition; Merial’s HeartGuard Plus and FrontLine Plus; WBIR-TV; B97.5; Knoxville News Sentinel; PETCO Animal Supplies/PETCO Foundation; 24PetWatch/Petango Store; Enrichment Federal Credit Union; and Erie Insurance. Money raised from entry fees benefited Young-Williams Animal Center, the official animal shelter for Knoxville and Knox County.

OK. The photos:

The Westie Rescue of Tennessee had a special section of the parade dedicated to the adorable West Highland White Terriers (Westies).