Cats ruled, but a dog made an honorable showing
By Julie Snyder and Amie McGraham, Best Friends Network VolunteersAnd the winners are…..
Best in Show in the first-ever Holiday Spirit Contest sponsored by the Best Friends Network’s Southwest Region is awarded to a cat with “Santattitude”—Daddy-O Claws!
Daddy-O’s acceptance speech:
”I am very humbly grateful to have won the Holiday Spirit contest. Mom caught me in a great mellow mood after she gave me some home grown nip. I don't usually wear clothes, it messes up my fur. Mom did enter me in the Halloween contest and put some silly devil mask on me, but I was kind of sleepy then-come to think of it, I think she gave me nip then too... Thank you so much.”
By the way, our winner’s full name is Daddy-O Clarence Clemons Bigman Woolbright, and he lives with fellow felines Oreo and Savannah Fluffanella and their humans. A neighborhood stray who came to stay in 2001, 9-year-old Daddy-O is a Norwegian Forest Cat according to his vet—and at 20 pounds, a hefty specimen of the breed! Mom Kimberly says that his name suits him because “if he had thumbs, he would play the saxophone.”
All in the Family AwardCasper, Billy Boy and Freddy began their lives in the Fagerstom household as foster cats.
Casper (below), now 13, quickly wrapped foster mom Carrie around his paw with his cuddly character and now he’s a permanent member of the family.
Ditto Billy Boy (below), a special needs boy whose big, boisterous and sweet personality won him a permanent home as well.
Freddie, the newest foster FIV+ feline in this cat-friendly home (more about him at his
blog), is awaiting placement at Cat Adoption Team (unless this irresistible boy finds a forever home).
Words from the winners:
Casper: “I am so glad that you found a category that all of us could win. I really wanted Freddie to get some attention to help him get a real home but I have to agree with my mom . . . my photo is the sweetest! And sharing is my thing.”
Billy Boy: “Yeah, yeah, Casper . . . you may look the sweetest but just look at my handsome self. And how about the composition of the photo? I should have won, I tell you!”
Freddie: “Are you my new mommy? I didn't dress up for nothing, did I? We had NO choice about our costumes. Auntie Dana came in with a whole bag of Santa hats and she and my foster mom double-teamed us. I'm a very laid back guy, though. As long as I'm fed a ridiculous amount of tasty wet food at least twice a day, I’ll do whatever you ask!”
Mom Carrie’s favorite holiday tradition with her pets is the hanging of their adorable stockings. “It's purely for me, I realize, but it's fun,” she said.
Other members of the Fagerstom menagerie include: Dogs Evi, Griffin and Grady; permanent cats Milo, Simon, Chloe, Emma, Celeste and Ember (just adopted from Pahrump), and foster cats Tyler, Bruno and Arthur. Who could be more deserving of a Family Award?
Honorable MentionHandsome Jack wins Honorable Mention for his perfectly posed photo with Santa.
Said 9-year-old Jack in response to this award:
“I'm honored and thrilled to win, knowing the competition was stiff. There are some darn good looking pets in this part of the country! When we saw Santa posing for pictures, Dad said ‘Hey Jack! Want to meet Santa?’ I was all for it because Santa's been very good to me. I marched in and jumped on the bench. The bench wasn't very comfy and Santa was sort of hot, so I didn't want to sit there for long. What you can't see in the photo is Mom squatting behind me to get me to stay, Dad standing next to the camera to get my attention, and Santa with a tight grip on me!. It was a group effort. I only let them take one picture before I jumped down, but when you're this photogenic, one is enough!”
Modest Jack is a rescue dog who’s been top dog in the Eissmann household in Minden, Nevada for seven years. Mom Linda reports that a favorite holiday tradition is to spend the day together as a family for Christmas, usually with a nice hike either in Hope Valley or at Lake Tahoe. “Family time together is our favorite thing,” said Linda. Jack woofed his agreement.
Happy HolidaysAll of the Holiday Spirit photo contest entrants are winners in our eyes! Stay tuned for more Southwest Region events in the new year.