CITIZENS FOR ANIMAL Protection (CAP) brought out the big dogs for its annual Celebrity Paws gala, which this year adopted a theme of Mission: Pawsible. Event chairs Jody Merritt and Christine Johnson accomplished a fantastic mission of raising $875,000, and are pledging to round up the final amount to a million dollars, all going toward CAP's shelter, rescue and adoption efforts.

The highlight of the evening, as always, was the rocking runway show, where local notables and the night's honorees strutted their stuff alongside their prized pets. This year's models included Carson Brown, John Cangelosi and Natasha Minor, Angela Hernandez, Daniel Irion and Kirk Kveton, Brigitte Kalai, Sharron Melton, Sarah Pepper, Roxy Riefkohl, Kenny Webster, and Rebecca and Anthony Yanez. Other awards distributed at the gala were the Social Influencer for Animals award, which went to Madeline Garis Smith, and the Melcher Humanitarian of the Year accolade, which was given to Nicolette St. Angel.

The Mission: Pawsible party, attended by a whopping 800 supporters, also included an exciting raffle for a 2024 Subaru Outback, donated by famously animal-loving West Houston Subaru. Emcee Owen Conflenti and auctioneer Johnny Bravo conducted the live auction, which contributed to the total till.

Amy Stengel, Nicolette St Angel

Angela Hernandez and Buckley winner of 2023 Celebrity Pet of the Year

Tony Ackerman and Sandi Mercado

Brigitte and Bashar Kalai with Max

Suzanne Klein and Edna Meyer-Nelson

Caron Brown and Pepper

Steve and Christine Johnson

Charlie and Janice Hall

Clark Whitty and Mary Kenner

Sharron Melton with Omorede and Idrissa

Clint and Meghan Conroy

Daniel Irion and Kirk Kveton with Biscuit

Ross and Bryn Talkington

Debra Laws, Beth Wolff, Anna Kaplan

Roxy Riefkohl and Olive Marie and Ruby Rose

Odilia and Owen Conflenti

Frank Billingsley and Kevin Gilliard

Greg Brown, Brandy Minick

Pamela Srpouse and Gregory Miller

Hallie Vanderhider and Bobby Dees

Rebecca and Anthony Yanez with Harvey and Houston