  We present the results of our HI survey of six loose groups of galaxies
analogous to the Local Group. The survey was conducted using the Parkes
telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array to produce a census of all
the gas-rich galaxies and analogs to the high-velocity clouds (HVCs) within
these groups down to M(HI) < 10^7 M(sun) as a test of models of galaxy
formation. We present the HI mass function and halo mass function of the loose
groups and show that they are consistent with those of the Local Group. We
discuss the possible role of HVCs in solving the ``missing satellite'' problem
and discuss the implications of our observations for models of galaxy
formation.
