Fun-loving pit bull wins No. 1 Pet contestSunday
H-W Photo/Steve Bohnstedt Billy Shortridge of Quincy, and his dog Carmel are the winners of The Herald-Whig No. 1 Pet Contest.By Betty Anders
Herald-Whig Staff Writer
Carmel, a pit bull, seems to be at home on most construction sites.
Her owner, Billy Shortridge, takes her to work with him at Shortridge Construction in Quincy. As business carries on around her, she runs around schmoozing the workers, getting them to pet her. It's not unusual to see her riding on the machinery or in the vehicles of the construction crew.
As popular as she is on the job, Carmel proved to be equally popular in winning The Herald-Whig's No. 1 Pet Contest, receiving 7,841 of the 42,503 votes cast. The contest benefits The Herald-Whig's Newspapers in Education (NIE) program and the Quincy Humane Society. The sponsors of this year's contest were Gully Transportation and Interstate Carrier Express.
Shortridge was excited to win the first prize of $500 and happy that the contest, in its second year, helps the Humane Society.
"I love animals, and I especially love dogs," he said. "The Humane Society does so much good work. My grandpa (Ray Shortridge) went out and got lots of donations."
Carmel is two years old and was a gift to Shortridge from his girlfriend. He said she has a "top of the world personality."
"I got her in Tampa, Fla.," said Shortridge. "I named her Carmel because of the color of her coat."
Voters could enter by sending in a ballot clipped from The Herald-Whig. For each 25 cents donated, another vote was tallied, although non-paid votes also were accepted.
Entry forms appeared in The Herald-Whig, and each photo included a $10 submission fee. Readers had two weeks to vote for their favorite photo after the May 20 publication date. That round ended June 4, and the top photos advanced to a second round which ended June 22.
Baby, a Dachshund owned by Michael Walden, finished in second place and will receive a $250 prize and a plaque. Each of the top 20 finishers will receive a plaque with a photo of the pet on it.
The contest raised $8,893 for NIE and $4,440 for the Humane Society this year. NIE provides newspapers and educational programs to 170 area classrooms every week during the school year.
"I was extremely pleased at the turnout the second year," said Kevin Cain, single-copy circulation manager for The Herald-Whig. "The contest didn't lose momentum. There were a few repeats and many new people. There were more people involved. That makes a good contest."
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