Editor:

Wow! That is all I can say about the 5th annual Mystic Mutts of Revelry (MMOR) Parade, which took place in downtown Fairhope Saturday, Jan. 26th. In spite of the persistent drizzle that plagued us all day, many showed up to partake in the fun and show support for The Haven.

For those of you not familiar with this event, the MMOR parade is a walking Mardi Gras parade for pets and their human companions. Participants pay a fee to walk in the parade, and all money raised goes to The Haven, a no-kill animal shelter that takes in abused, abandoned and neglected animals, gives them all the medical care and rehabilitation they need, and places them forever homes.

Mutts of all shapes and sizes showed up in costumes and decorations of all types and paraded through the streets to show their support. For all of you that participated, there are no words to express how much it means to those of us who put our heart and soul into this event. It is heartbreaking to have the weather jeopardize it's success. We were very worried that morning that no one would show up. But our worry was for naught!

We ended up with about 140 registered Mutts, and 25 special guests, which included the Fairhope and Foley K9 Officers, the Greyhound Pets of America, and the Haven dogs looking for forever homes. We had Mutts in the parade from 11 cities in Baldwin County; Mobile, Greenville, and Birmingham, Ala.; Franklin, Tenn.; St. Louis, Mo.; Pensacola, Fla.; Houston, Texas; and San Francisco, Calif.

We had some wonderful sponsors this year. Our presenting sponsor was Hampton Inn of Fairhope. Additional sponsors were Gary Finch Outdoors, Leslie Goldberg Photography and Millers Grand Events. These wonderful people and organizations played a huge part in making this year’s event the success it was.

We also had huge success bidding off the positions of royalty. The position of MMOR King, Queen, Prince and Princess are up for bid every year. Whoever is willing to give The Haven the largest donation wins them. This year David and Carrie Dortch of Fairhope and Marie Hutchinson of Summerdale were the top bidders.

Between our sponsors, our Royal positions and all the wonderful people who participated, in spite of the weather, we managed to raise more money this year than we did last year. Thank you to all the great volunteers who helped, thank you to the city of Fairhope and the Fairhope Police Department who work with us each year, and thank you again to all of you who participated in any way.

Mystic Mutts of Revelry event chair