Pooches can be pirates, too

All together now, say Awww.

Dressed in pirate attire, Chihuahuas, Great Danes, English Bulldogs and other canines held their own version of Gasparilla at Ybor City's The Dirty Shame: Barkarilla.

The annual fundraiser is put on by Ye Loyal Krewe of Samuel Bellamy. The event benefits Animal Based Charities Inc. in Tampa and has raised as much as $1,500 in recent years.

The pooch spoof on the pirate invasion featured dogs parading down Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, where curious passers-bye snapped photos and a Barkarilla king and queen were even crowned at the event's end.

"I know I'm doing something good for the charity," said Sheila Ryan, an organizer and captain of the Krewe. "But I'm also putting a little laughter into people's lives.

"And you know, life is too short not to have fun."