The face first got to Brieanna Fugate, but it was the story behind the face that captured the little Meadville girl’s heart.

“I thought ‘He’s really cute’,” Fugate, 8, said of what she felt when she first laid eyes on her dog, Checo, a 4-month-old Chihuahua mix, at the Crawford County Humane Society.

She and her family adopted the dog from the Humane Society’s animal shelter.

The dog was one of seven puppies found abandoned in a vacant trailer and taken to the shelter for adoption, said her Ann Gladis, Fugate’s great-grandmother.

“I saved him,” Fugate said with a bright smile. “He’s very playful and I felt sorry for him.”

“He just looked so pitiful,” said Gladis. “He had it rough, but he’s doing well now.”

“Lots of love — and dog food,” Fugate responded when asked what she feeds her puppy.

Fugate was one of about 60 kids showing off all types of pets at the 30th annual Children’s Pet Show Saturday at Meadville’s Diamond Park. The annual show is sponsored by the Meadville Public Library and Dad’s Products Inc.

There was everything from dogs and cats to fish, frogs, guinea pigs, hermit crabs and even ladybugs competing Saturday for ribbons and trophies.

The annual show not only has kids show off their pets, but encourages reading since each child gets a book, said Mary Lee Minnis, children’s librarian at Meadville Public Library.

“They get to have a copy of a book of their own,” she said. “That’s very special to a child.’

Books come from donations from businesses and individuals and are given to the children, she said.

The 60 pets entered this year was one of the largest contests in recent years, said Minnis. Higher numbers were recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s, she said.

Dad’s Products Inc., the Meadville-based pet food maker, provides pet food and treats for the animals as well as ribbons for all the participants and trophies for the winners.

Chance, owned by Lita Ruhl, won the trophy for best cat in show. Buddy, owned by Dante Hagberg, won the trophy for best dog in show. Abby, a dog owned by Cheyanne Crum, sang her way to the trophy for most talented pet.