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Judges from the Spring Fling dog park fundraiser announced their picks for the cutest and ugliest dogs in Austin.

The Spring Fling dog park fundraiser, a joint effort between Austin dog park group SPARK and Double K Specialty, unveiled its top three choices for both categories Monday. Organizers photographed the dogs during a Saturday kickoff of the eight-day fundraiser.

“The kickoff went great,” said Kyle Klaehn, owner of Double K. “We had a hundred-plus participants.”

Klaehn said last week that he hoped to raise $1,000 throughout the event. After this weekend, meeting the goal looks likely, he said.

The event went “very smooth,” he added. People socialized and there were no behavioral issues with so many dogs being in one place.

Apart from the cutest and ugliest dog contests, the Spring Fling drew people in by offering to issue free dog licenses to owners whose dogs were caught up on vaccinations and spaying/neutering. Normally, the licenses are $10.

The city issued about 75 licenses and ran out of its supply.

“That’s unheard of, having that many people get their pets registered,” Klaehn said. He said that at a Double K event in previous years they issued over 20.

While the kickoff is over, the fundraising event will last through April 28. During the remainder of the eight-day event, SPARK will receive $1 for every bag of dog food Double K sells. In addition, customers will be asked if they’d like to match that dollar with one of their own.

All funds will go toward SPARK’s goal of establishing a free-to-use dog park in Austin. The group says the park would allow responsible pets and owners to enjoy a fenced-in area where leashes would not be required. Currently there are no such parks in the city.