Noah Johnson Daily Press
Daily Press Circulation and Newspapers in Education Coordinator, Doris Wodrich presents the 2024 Pet Idol plaque to Rip and his owner, Joni Smith.
ESCANABA — The votes are in and a dog named Rip is the Winner of the Daily Press 2024 Pet Idol Contest.
Rip, a 3-year-old, 85-pound Golden Doodle took home the title, beating out 17 other contestants.
The community showed up and showed out, with over 5,000 votes cast between the 18 contestants.
Rip received 977 votes to take home the hardware.
Rip belongs to his loving owners, Joni and Dan Smith who adopted him from downstate in Birch Run.
Joni said that Rip stuck out to her because of his laid-back demeanor.
“There was a litter of seven. There were some black ones and tan ones and I wanted a boy and I wanted light colors. Who can resist a puppy, right?” Joni said.
She said Rip is a loving dog, that will do anything for Joni.
“He loves doing anything, he will do anything for me,” she said.
Rip likes to go dock diving, tracking and hanging out with his fuzzy friends.
“He likes to go to Christian Park once a month with his friends from D&D and visits with the residents,” she said.
Joni said most people notice Rip’s thick eyebrows and tail.
“He’s just got a great personality, he loves kids (and) people.
When asked why Rip was entered into the contest, Joni said, “I think he’s pretty special.”
“He’s just one of those dogs, he’ll be really good and then he turns into a doodle and you think he doesn’t have a brain in his head,” Joni said.
She said that she was surprised when she got the call as she wasn’t feeling well at the time.
“That was really good news,” she said.
She said Rip is a big fan of swimming and loves to play ball, specifically a Chuck It Ball.
“Oh, he loves to swim,” Joni said.
“Last year, he got novice champion at the pier pups dock diving (in) Menominee.”
Rip is also a great passenger for car rides, he doesn’t whine or cry. Instead, he lays his head down or looks out the window.
Unfortunately, Rip couldn’t manage to make a statement about his new status as the 2024 pet idol but provided a sweet smile after some well-deserved butt pats.
“He’s a good boy, he’s a keeper,” Joni said.
The promotion benefits the Newspapers In Education program (NIE). NIE is a non-profit program sustained through fundraising events and contests, local business sponsors and Daily Press subscribers. The goal of the program is to promote literacy by bringing newspapers into the classroom to keep students informed, motivated and interested in reading.
