Published: June 24, 2007 12:21 am      

Dogs accompany Hogs at Thunder

Who says Thunder in the Valley needs to be all about the motorcycles?

Roxbury Park went to the dogs Saturday when the first Barking in the Valley – Dogs on Hogs event was held.

More than 30 dogs – accompanied by their owners – strutted across the stage in their finest biker gear to thunderous rounds of applause from the large crowd of spectators.

“The idea came when I thought about how we could get the Bandshell involved with Thunder in the Valley,” Debbi McCaffrey, event chairwoman, said. “We hope this will be the first of many to come in the future.”

The event was free and billed as a family-friendly gathering.

“This is another place for people to come in conjunction with Thunder in the Valley,” Mary Borkow, president of the Roxbury Bandshell Preservation Alliance, said.

The doggie fashion show wasn’t the only attraction though. Vendors, food, clowns and prize raffles all added to the day.

All proceeds from the event benefited the Roxbury Bandshell Preservation Alliance.

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If you happen to be in the Biker Mall area and see a little white dog poking her head out a man’s leather vest, stop by and say hi to Babee.

At Nancy’s Treasures the small pooch is luring visitors in to see merchandise that ranges from helmets to pins to stickers.

Michael Romanowicz, Babee’s owner, said his pooch feels the most comfortable when she’s tucked into his vest.

“Oh yes, she rides everywhere with me,” the Philadelphia area resident said. “She really does go everywhere I go.”

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As of 6 p.m. Saturday, 392 people stopped into the Greater Johnstown/Cambria County Convention and Visitors Bureau on Main Street to ask anything and everything about Thunder in the Valley.

People were looking for event programs and detailed maps of the city and surrounding areas.

Most were out-of-towners coming from Virginia, Ohio, New York and Florida.