For Austinites who aren't in the loop on all things dogs, it might come as a surprise that over the past two years, the nichely famous local dog photographer ZilkerBark has been hosting an annual golden retriever meetup with gobsmacking numbers of dog attendees. The next goal: get together the biggest group of golden retrievers ever.

Last year 738 golden retrievers joined the festivities, and this year, for the organization's third annual event on April 13, ZilkerBark founder Alex Hopes anticipates about "2,000 golden retrievers" to attend. This number would make Austin the home of the largest golden retriever meetup in the world.

"The official world record is 1,310 set in Melbourne, Australia," says Hopes, adding that "Goldens in Golden [Colorado]" is another huge golden retriever meetup, however, they don't count their attendance.

"Over 900 Goldens have registered in the first three weeks," Hopes says.

Not only would this number of good dogs put Austin on the map for the largest golden retriever meetup in the world, but it would also help raise valuable funds for Gold Ribbon Rescue, a Central Texas organization that finds homes for adoptable golden retrievers. It'll do this with a $3 entry fee, proceeds from t-shirt sales, and fees for the meetup's "extras" which include:

• Golden retriever races
• A dog toy run
• An Air Bud look-alike contest
• A possible golden retriever rave

"Our goal is to raise $15,000 for GGR during this event," Hopes says.

Hopes didn't always have lofty dreams of hosting the world's largest golden retriever meetup. In fact, he started out as a dog photographer, but after more than a decade of snapping photos of Austin's goodest boys and girls, he noticed it wasn't just possible to get tons of goldens together, but they're also friendly enough to do it smoothly.

"The city has an incredible number of Golden Retrievers, and they’re some of the sweetest dogs around," he says. "This event celebrates them while raising funds for Gold Ribbon Rescue. Plus, few breeds can gather in the thousands and get along so well. This meetup is a special experience for Golden families."

Of course, this event will be adorable for all and probably the best day of these dogs' lives, but for the humans, there will also be four full-service bars as well as food from Pueblo Viejo, Up in Smoke BBQ, and The Corndog Company. Additional pet-based vendors will be sponsored by Austin Subaru, Healthy Pet, Ally medical, Fi, Tomlinson's, and Pet Honesty. Plus, ZilkerBark will be running two photobooths for pet portraits.

For Austinites who want to bring along a "non-golden," Hopes says "all dogs are welcome, but only purebred Golden Retrievers will count toward the meetup record."

This largest golden retriever meetup in the world attempt will take place April 13 at Star Hill Ranch in Bee Caves. Registration is available at zilkerbark.com.