Furry and feathered friends donned their very best in order to strut their stuff at Ross Township’s annual pet parade on a brisk but sunny Saturday.

About 20 contestants showed up to show off their stylish selves with owners in tow, but festivities in the park kicked off earlier with the addition of a scarecrow build.

“This is our first try at a scarecrow build involving the community, and we invited families and businesses to come out and build a scarecrow,” West End Open Space Commission director Bernie Kozen said. “Then, we have our annual pet parade at noon, so we invited the scarecrows to participate with the pets and parade around Ross Township Park.”

Though attendance was a bit scarce, those who did swing by early to assemble a straw man were provided with most of the supplies — sans clothing — thanks to the West End Open Space Commission.

Braxton Knapp, 12, was able to construct a perfect farmer scarecrow with a burlap sack head, flannel shirt, and a pair of jeans.

“It was fun. I made it to go outside, and I think it will look good in the yard,” Knapp said.

When it came time for the parade, township supervisor Tina Drake handled the judging, and make no mistake, it was a difficult role to play.

“I thought they all looked wonderful,” Drake said. “It was really hard to judge, pick and choose one over another. Everybody did great, and they’re all my favorites.”

Jeff and Denise Lipe’s dog Roscoe won the ‘scariest’ category with his shark costume, with his brother Wrangler decked out as a surfer with a surfboard that had a chunk taken out of him.

“He’s got three legs, and we had to play up on it. He’s a cancer survivor, he lost his leg to cancer. We tried to pick out a costume that would work with his three legs,” Denise Lipe said.

The best owner and pet combination award went to Cooper the dog, dressed as a football player, along with his owner Angelina Bucano, 10, who came as a cheerleader.

Sunni the trash-eating 4-month-old puppy, decked out in bits of paper and packages, won the award for most original costume.

“She’s always getting in the trash, all the time,” owner Bobby Baltera said. “It was an obvious choice.”

Anna Mae Allison’s dog Bene took the prize for cutest. Bene came out as Ferdinand, from the classic children’s story of a bull that would rather sniff flowers than fight, complete with a set of horns.

Though dogs were the predominant paraders, a few birds came out for the walk as well.

Poor Baby, the blue and gold Macaw, came out as Rapunzel, complete with a doll castle that owner Debra Brickey repurposed when she found it discarded on the side of the road. And yes, Poor Baby did sport a tiny wig in case any prospective mates wanted to climb the tower.

Pat Lessard brought out her whole brood, including Buddy the rooster, Midget the Self Blue Old English Game Hen, and 16 year old Buff Orpington Cuddle Bunny. Buddy sported a lobster outfit, which is made for medium dogs. Midget opted for a tiny outfit that deemed her to be sweet as candy, but make no mistake, she can be a tough and bossy little gal. Cuddle Bunny kept it simple with a bib that labeled her “tender but tuff,” with Lessard joking that it made her a chicken tender.

“I try to get a different costume for them every year. The only thing we haven’t tried out is the ‘scariest,’ because how do you make a chicken look scary? Think about it. I would’ve loved to find a costume that looked like a roast turkey or chicken, but that’s not scary to us, it’s just scary to other chickens!” Lessard said with a laugh.