An Okanagan pooch beat out 43,000 other animals to be featured on a popular calendar distributed by a nationwide pet store.
Abby, a happy-looking Australian Cattle Dog enjoying a rest on a leaf-speckled path, will be Miss October in the 2025 calendar produced by Bosley’s Pet Valu.
The picture was taken by Abby’s owner Val Dunn of Vernon. Aside from looking impossibly cute, Abby’s interests are said to include being loyal, camping, hiking, and playing fetch.
Funds raised by the sale of the calendars will go toward the store’s Companions for Change initiative, which has raised a remarkable $31 million since 2010 to support animal rescue groups across Canada.
More than 43,000 pictures were submitted in this year's calendar contest. Along with dogs and cats, there were pictures of hamsters and lobsters.
“Making the calendar was a highly competitive process. The winners were determined by a public vote and nearly 5.5 million votes were cast,” per a company release.
The calendars are available now on a give-what-you-can basis now at all Bosley Pet Valu stores.
There must be something in the water, or in the air, or on the land in Vernon that lends itself to great animal pictures as another North Okanagan dog named Rose, a Jack Russell mix owned by Michael Moore, was featured in this year’s calendar.