Nine-year-old Casey McEssy tosses a ball as her two-year-old Border Collie Kara competes in the fetching competition at Kirby Memorial Baptist Church's K-9 contest Saturday. Kara was the best fetching dog in the pack, going after balls with extreme determination and a blur of speed. Some of the contestants at Kirby Memorial Baptist Church's K-9 competition were undoubtedly purebred - others were undoubtedly mutts.

In the end, however, breeds and pedigrees don't matter when man's best friend is being judged on best costume, cuteness, best bling-bling, and whether or not the animal really looks like his or her owner.

For Kirby Memorial, the event, now in its second year, is a chance for church members to share in the fellowship of each

other's company, for dog owners to share in

a common pursuit and for everyone to celebrate the wonders of God's creation in all of its many forms.

And with dogs, the forms are many.

Entrants in the dog show ranged from a tiny teacup Chihuahua that likely weighed a pound or two at best, to a massive Great Dane so tall that it could be saddled like a horse.

Who is who? Mark Enoch and Taz, a miniature Schnauzer, took top honors in the look-alike contest. Taz is on the left, er... right... no, left. There were boxers, border collies, an English bull- dog, a German Shepherd, and even a Pomeranian or two.

The show, sponsored by the church's Women With Heart group, was likely double the size of last year's, said Tina Rogers, one of the organizers.

Rogers laughed when asked about the lack of cats at the event. "That's what everybody asks," she said with a smile. "We do leave cats out. We can't have them mixed in."

While sponsored by the Women With Heart, men weren't left out of the planning or execution of the event. The Rev. Rich Lancaster, one of the many male volunteers, pulled duty in the parking lot, helping direct cars.

He smiled while looking around the field at all of the people who had come out Saturday.

"We like to use this as an outreach event," he said, "to meet the community and show the love of Christ to people of all ages."

Four-week-old pugs Buddy and Tiger were almost the stars of the K-9 contest even though they weren't at the event to compete. Lancaster estimated that about 75 percent of the people at the show didn't attend Kirby Memorial, meaning the outreach effort was paying off.

While Rogers and Rev. Lancaster are both dog owners, neither of them brought their dogs to the event. Rogers figured she couldn't help run the show and look after her own dog at the same time, but promised to take home some dog treats.

"If there was an ugliest (dog prize), I could have entered mine," Rev. Lancaster said with a laugh.

Six-year-old Quincie Hively couldn't resist giving a hug to Buddy, a four-week-old Pug. Debbie Elmore's dog, Pooh, was ready for Halloween dressed as a witch. A very special dog, indeed, Pooh lost one of her eyes when she was a puppy but isn't slowed down in the least.