Magic crossing his paws

By Jill Gosche, jgosche@advertiser-tribune.com
A local pooch is one paw closer to making a $10,000 donation to the organization that trained him.

Magic, Tiffin City Schools’ 3-year-old therapy dog, is one of 75 semi-finalists in Bissell’s Most Valuable Pet photograph contest.

He received the most votes for the 11th voting period, and his owner wins a Pet Hair Eraser vacuum, according to the company’s Web site.

“Without the community support, it wouldn’t have happened,” his caregiver and handler, Suzanne Reinhart, said Wednesday evening. “What a neat, neat day this has turned out to be.”

Reinhart said the contest has 15 voting periods, and each results in five winners. The winners comprise the top 75, and judges will pick an overall winner from that group, she said.

“We’re done (voting),” she said. “All we can do now is cross our paws and see what happens.”

Bissell’s Web site states the winner will be chosen around May 5 on the basis of the animal’s coat, expression and overall appearance.

“The competition is adorable,” Reinhart said. “His work is cut out for him at this point in time.”

A picture of the grand prize winner is to be placed on Bissell packaging. Also, the animal’s owner will select a pet organization to receive $10,000, the Web site states.

Reinhart said she would donate the money to Assistance Dogs of America Inc., the organization that trained Magic, if he would win the contest.

“It’s just really mushroomed into some great big thing,” she said. “It makes me feel good to think that the people support the program as much as I believe in the program.”

Reinhart said she entered Magic, a golden retriever, in the contest two weeks ago and ran a quiet voting campaign with children at school. When he didn’t win, she tried again and started spreading the word.

Reinhart said people from Florida, Indiana, Michigan and all over Ohio voted for Magic, and she thinks finding large groups of people to tell about the contest helped the second time around.

“It went huge,” she said. “It’s really neat how a lot of people got behind it. ... It just took off in seven short days.”

In addition to helping school children, Magic visits with patients at Mercy Hospital of Tiffin once a week. Reinhart said it is rewarding to volunteer to take Magic around at the hospital.

“It’s just so neat to get him out and about in the community, and it’s just so neat to watch people respond,” she said.



On the Web:

Assistance Dogs of America Inc.

http://www.adai.org'>www.adai.org

Bissell:

http://www.bissell.com'>www.bissell.com