For several hours Saturday, The Harvest Room in New Iberia was transformed into Tinseltown.

The occasion was the inaugural Hollywoof Doggie Fashion Show, which rolled out the red carpet for two groups of dogs to strut their stuff in front of the judges.

The purpose of the event was to raise money for Acadiana Spay Neuter, a low-cost veterinarian clinic located on Sugar Oaks Road that has a goal of reducing the unwanted pet population in the community and to provide affordable veterinarian preventative care.

DJ Todd Derouen provided the music and served as the emcee for the show, which sold out at $50/ticket. There was a silent and a live auction to raise additional funds.

“This is the biggest fundraiser we’ve done,” said BFF Spay/Neuter Project President Alissa Broussard, who oversees the charity events for the clinic. “Debbie Deslatte and I usually sell cotton candy. The long-range goal is to make enough money so Dr. Kera Varnado can do a promotion every month.”

Broussard said the clinic needs to bring in $3000/month to offer reduced fee services. Usually, the pet owner will pay for half of the spay/neuter and the other half will be subsidized.

“The fashion show went really well,” said Nancy Lacy, Acadiana Spay Neuter’s Volunteer Event Coordinator. “It was great to see the community offering to help. A lot of businesses donated items. People are already talking about next year.”

A group of local dogs and a group of shelter dogs from Animals of IPAC took to the runway where they were escorted by sponsors. Some dogs, such as Maxwell from IPAC, soaked up the spotlight and hammed for the audience. Deuce Segura, a five-year-old toy poodle who loves to play fetch, won the Judges’ Choice award.

Other fan favorites included Charlie, a four-year-old jet black rescue doodle who was decked out in UL gear, and Colt, a handsome 10-year-old Labrador/Great Pyrenees mix who was adorned in LSU gear.

Dr. Varnado has been using another event, the Plush Pet Adoption Mini Clinic, to teach local youth about proper pet care. Students “adopt” a stuffed animal and bring it to the vet for a physical exam.

“They check the heart and eyes and give the plush pet a pretend vaccine,” Varnado said. “They talk about heartworm prevention and the importance of spay/neuter. It’s the basis that people don’t grow up learning. We’re trying to instill that in the younger generation.”

The judges included artist Paul Schexnayder, Dr. Raquel Naquin of Faithful Friends Veterinarian , Miss Spanish Festival Queen Chloe Mixon and Denise Miller of Miller Management.

Acadiana Spay Neuter is located at 1919 Sugar Oaks Road in New Iberia and can be reached at 337-453-0627.