$3,952 Raised for Shelter
Local News
With a piece of newspaper in his teeth, Tucker the Yorkshire Terrier pauses to look at the camera while opening a present. He was congratulated at the Delta Animal Shelter on Thursday for winning the Daily Press Pet Idol contest. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Tanya Lund and Tucker hand a $3,952.50 check to Vonnie Bruce at the Delta Animal Shelter. Tucker earned the most votes in the fundraiser that collected funds for both the shelter and the Newspapers in Education program. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
Tucker looks up while sitting on a new dog pillow gifted to him by Daily Press Publisher Sarah Greenlund as a reward for winning Pet Idol. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press)
ESCANABA – The votes are tallied, and the runaway winner of this year’s Pet Idol contest was Tucker the Yorkshire Terrier. The contest, coordinated by the Daily Press, asked pet owners to submit photo entries, with one winner ultimately becoming the following year’s mascot for the Newspapers in Education (NIE) program. Funds collected—$5 for each submission and $0.50 for each vote—were split evenly between NIE and the Delta Animal Shelter, the area’s no-kill, open-admission shelter.
This year’s contest saw a record number of submissions, with 58 photographs entered. The total collected was $7,905 from late May until voting closed in August.
Tucker, owned by Tanya and Perry Lund, has an impressive lineage. His parents, Kazanova and Kerra, were show dogs who immigrated from Russia and Belarus just before the war in Ukraine. Tanya described Tucker as affectionate, mischievous, and sometimes more like a cat than a dog.
Tanya entered Tucker into the contest as a tribute to her father, Richard Wilson, and uncle, Charlie Wilson. Richard, a military veteran, was a Russian linguist, and Charlie was involved in continuing education. Thirteen years ago, Tanya’s previous Yorkshire Terrier, Oliver, won second place in a similar contest just before Richard’s passing.
This year, Tucker earned 4,867 votes to become the Pet Idol and will serve as NIE’s mascot throughout the school year. The Daily Press also presented gifts to Tucker and the two runners-up: Toby the dog (1,643 votes) and Oliver the cat (945 votes).
