What a grand doggie party!

What better way to celebrate this time of year than an event brought to you by Swatch, Gift Gate, the Hotel Philippine Plaza and The Philippine STAR where everyone could celebrate both the new Year of the Dog and the season for love? Guests did both at the Grand Doggie Party where dog lovers ushered in the New Year with their canine friends and celebrated their friendship with and undying commitment to their best friends and constant companions – their dogs.

From big and small to hairy and hairless, from a Giant Schnauzer to a miniature Chihuahua, man’s best friend took center stage, center ramp and center attention as VIP guests arrived with their groomed canines dressed in their best ready to strut their stuff anywhere the party might lead.

Things were kicked off by Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski and Rowell Santiago with the afternoon’s Early Super Dog awards, which included Celine Lopez’s dog Delilah, Raymart Santiago’s bulldog Taco, Darrell Tieste’s Sebastian, Randy Santiago’s Ginger and Marilou Santiago’s Coco.

Then it was show time with dog lover Pia Guanio. The awarding of the first set of Special Awards for the afternoon gave the four-legged guests their time to shine. Award winners included the Supermodel Award given to Robby Mananquil and Valerie delos Santos’ dog Chewy – short for Chewbacca of Star Wars fame. Mr. Friendly was Taco, Raymart Santiago’s Bulldog, who received his second award of the afternoon. The Babe and Bitch Award went to Isabel Roces and her one-year-old giant Schnauzer Zelda. Pretty in Pink was Alecx Garcia and her Maltese Phoebe. The Most Adorable Trio was Rissa and Enzo Samson, and their Poodle Marble. And the Superdog award went to Maurice Arcache’s Labrador Mabushka.

The surprise celebrity guest appearance brought out the day’s three special guests – the energetic Blue from Nickelodeon’s Blue’s Clues, the all-time classic Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoon and Sanrio’s new character, the ever so cute Cinnamoroll who appeared for the first time here in the Philippines. An opportunity for guests and their dogs to get their picture taken with these world-famous superdogs followed at each character’s photo station brought to everyone by Fujifilm.

Following the surprise appearance of the three superdogs was the awarding of the top 14 winners of the Swatch Year of the Dog Photo Contest. Over 5,000 entries competed for the top prize in the contest to find the country’s best shutterbugs whose creativity once again exceeded all expectations.

Top prize of P100,000 went to Eduardo Gapal from Tondo, with the second prize of P50,000 going to Patricia Lopa Silva of Makati. Third prize winner Carlo Carlos brought home P30,000, and Niccolo Cosme garnered fourth prize and P20,000. All the top four winners also received the Swatch Special "Year of the Dog — Gou Lai Fu" which is Swatch’s commemorative edition celebrating this New Year of the Fire Dog.

The awarding was underscored by the competition for the Most Fashionable Award where dog owners and their best friends took their turns strutting on the ramp for judges and audience in a doggie showdown of the afternoon’s best and most fashionable breeds. Winning the coveted award was Samantha Coyiuto with her truly chic and undeniably stylish Pomeranian Missy.

Following the awarding – and perhaps the highlight of the afternoon – was the Swatch Fashion Show featuring the iconic Swiss watchmaker’s Spring Summer 2006 collection. Models dressed in all white walked the runway – without their canine friends this time – and showed off the latest Swatch collection, which confirms the trendsetting combination of fashion and new technologies that can only be accomplished by Swatch. Brand-new colors and designs juxtapose with combinations of materials such as white ceramic and stainless steel to push the modern era’s edge of the envelope.

More prizes were then awarded with the Alpo Award going to Michael de Mesa’s dogs Tiffany and Chanel, the Lookalikes Award given to Kathy Moran and Gorby, the Tokyo Tokyo Sumo Dog Award going to Anara Chiongbian and Golden Retriever Maximus, the Star Award going to Nicolette Bell and Oatmeal, and the Philippine Plaza Award again going to Anara Chiongbian and Maximus.

A Blue’s Clues game then tested the audience’s powers of investigation where guests were asked to guess how many paw marks Blue had left on the walking path leading up to the Sunset Pavilion of the Hotel Philippine Plaza. And a "Bring Me a Blue …" game had the guests scrambling for different items in varying shades of blue.

The afternoon was capped off by the We Are Swatch Family Award, which was won by The Philippine STAR’s Mons Romulo-Tantoco with her husband Sander and their family who, along with Max, their Jack Russell Terrier, were dressed in their Swatchiest best.

Another one-of-a-kind gathering of friends and their constant canine companions wrapped up the unique afternoon of fun and excitement when man’s favorite pet took their opportunity to shine in the spotlight. It was truly a day of fashion, technology and trends for both owners and dogs. But perhaps most importantly, it was a day of friendship and love with the undeniable stars of the season being everyone’s best friend.

The Philippine STAR and Swatch invite you to join the fun at Gift Gate Glorietta 2 from Feb. 27 to March 3 where lots of prizes and surprises are in store for lucky guests. The 114 finalists and winners’ photos celebrating the Year of the Dog Photo Contest will be on display.