SUCH A GOOD BOY!
A Sligo puppy has beaten off competition from over 1,500 other puppies to be crowned Puppy of the Year for 2021 by Petmania Ireland.
The Great Dane puppy, born in May of this year, won the hearts of the judges because of his unique back story.
Named Orca, his owner Jo Gurney helps rescue whales, dolphins and seals - which was the inspiration for his name - and Orca plays a key role in helping Jo carrying out the day-to-day work.
But Orca isn't content to sit around; he loves the water and heads to the beach with Jo at least five times a week, where he watches seals bobbing along in the water.
He also brings floaty toys for the sea and is learning to retrieve them, while he's also attending classes so that one day he will be able to help search for people too.
"We had an overwhelming entry this year with over 1,500 much-loved puppies entering our Puppy of the Year," Emily Miller of Petmania Ireland said.
"The 14 finalists were all winners and with their families will represent their local Petmania store magnificently for the next 12 months. Choosing a winner was not easy but after a lot of consideration, the decision was unanimous that Orca from Sligo was the outstanding puppy this year. Orca is training to be a rescue dog and her proud pet parent Jo says that Orca is already making great strides at this young age."
Orca will now be pampered for a whole year with over €1,500 worth of prizes and will become the face of some of Petmania’s advertising campaigns for the next year.
“We are gobsmacked and over the moon," owner Jo Gurney said.
"We had a load of people behind us voting, and a huge thank you to the judges for choosing Orca. I am covered head to toe in goosebumps!”
So all in all, a very, very good boy.
