By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The 64th Bowling Green Pet Show was on cuteness overload Wednesday night. Ginormous and wrinkled dogs, large and little cats, a fluffy guinea pig and their proud owners hit the stage at Bowling Green City Park’s Needle Hall vying for top dog/cat/cavy honors
The number of participants and spectators at the BG Parks and Recreation-sponsored event was fewer than in previous years, judge Susay Sadoff-Obee noticed, but that didn’t deter the competition or appreciation and love for the parade of pets.
Deegan, the black and gray merle Great Dane came away a three-peat winner in the largest dog category. Owner Brandon Loe said the four-year-old female won the largest dog category two other years.
“We’re looking for a three-time winner here,” he said when introducing her. “If she wins, we’re going to celebrate with ice cream on the way home.”
Ice cream was in her future as the announced winner. At about 125 pounds, Deegan was indeed the largest and only dog in the category. “She’s full grown,” Loe said, “But she’s on the smaller side for her breed.”
She also was entered—and again, the only competitor—in the Best Behaved Pet.
“I decided to put the pressure on her to see if she was going to behave while we were up here,” Loe said. She was the perfect contestant, obeying commands and staying poised throughout his commands.
Binx, the four-and-a-half-year-old black cat owned by Brooke DeSelms, was five times lighter than Deegan the largest dog. But at 25 pounds for a cat, Binx was definitely the heavyweight in the biggest cat competition.
“He likes to eat and lay around,” DeSelms said, to which Recreation Coordinator and pet show host Ivan Kovacevic quipped, “That’s how I got this big too.”
Opposite to Binx, Cupcake, a teeny yellow, male tabby was awarded the Smallest Cat blue ribbon. At only a few months old, the cat cuddled in his owner’s arms.
Binx and Cupcake tied for first place in the Cutest Boy Cat category.
Rose Drain had a tough time deciding in what categories to enter her 11-year-old Sprout. She wanted to enter him in the Funniest Name Category, but decided his nickname of “Ozarks’ Rat Bastard Terrier” wasn’t appropriate for the family-friendly event.
Instead, the handsome little guy was entered in the Cutest Boy Dog category, because he always gets comments on his cuteness during their walks. The squirrel-loving, dirt-eating and sugar snap pea-loving dog won the red ribbon. His motto is “Small in stature, large in spirit.”
His younger sister Honey had to stay at home, Drain said, because she is not well-behaved enough.
Moose, a 16-month-old adorable Shar-Pei owned by the Novinsky family, was a two-category winner this year. He won the blue ribbons in Funniest Name and Cutest Boy Dog.
Aidan Novinsky described Moose as a really goofy, social dog. “We had a ton of names going, but we felt like Moose was the one that represents Shar-Peis the best,” he said.
“Moose is super cute because of his wrinkly face, the spots that are all over his legs and his colors,” said Kiera Novinsky in her appeal to the judges to pick the Shar-Pei for cutest boy dog.
The Holman family was in full force to show off their beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Connor Holman introduced Rusty to the audience, first in the Shaggiest Pet category and again in the Cutest Boy Dog category. He was the shaggiest pet, and he earned the third-place ribbon in the cutest category.
“We always get compliments on how cute he is. If you look at his face, it’s easy to see why,” Connor said. “We like him because he looks like a small golden retriever.”
Rusty has an incorrigible puppy side too, Connor explained. “He likes to eat anything, like sister (Claire’s) hair ties.”
And zippers and shoes, father Brad Holman said, adding, “That’s why we didn’t enter him in the best behaved category.”
Gaga, the little golden chihuahua, had the second funniest name for a pet. Owned by the Dworsky family, Gaga was named after the singer Lady Gaga. She earned the first-place ribbon for Cutest Girl Dog. Described as “very cute and very beautiful,” the happy-go-lucky pup is very friendly, but likes to bark at anything that walks by to protect her turf.”
Kirby, a gray, very fluffy female cat, was paws-down the winner in the Prettiest Girl Cat category. Her owner, Josephine said the two-year-old cat was a rescue from the local organization For the Love of Cats. “She is very sweet and very pretty.
Kirby also competed in and placed second in the Best Groomed Pet category. “She’s the softest cat I’ve ever felt,” Josephine said.
Buddy the Beagle was shown by two brothers. He won the Best Groomed Pet after the judges learned he gets a weekly grooming at home.
Linq, a guinea pig and the only non-dog, non-cat pet at this year’s show, won in the Biggest Rodent category. Shown by the Bostic family, Linq weighed in at less than three pounds.
“His name is Linq with a Q, not a K, like Link the video game character,” said Matthew Bostic. “We kind of named him after the character, but we used to live in Las Vegas where there was a place called Linq Promenade that we liked to visit. So we named him after that.”
He was rescued from a guinea pig rescue and has found a home where he enjoys fresh-cut grass, veggies, fruits from the family garden and his favorite, fresh mint, Matthew said.
Categories with no contestants included prettiest bird, best dressed pet, pet with the longest ears, best pet trick, loudest bird tweet, slimiest reptile, pet that looks most like owner, smallest dog, most unusual pet, and most interesting farm pet, which might be a hint for next year’s prospective participants to consider.
“It’s so nice to see the community come out to participate and watch the pet show,” said judge Karen Rader. “It’s fun to celebrate the unique qualities of the pets each year.”
