Dog rescued in offaly wins puppy of the year

A dog surrendered to Offaly Dog Pound and saved by Cara Rescue Dogs has won the Petmania Puppy of the Year Competition.

Samson, a cross breed Collie/Staffordshire  who was dumped at six weeks old, stole the show at the final of the Petmania Puppy of the Year competition held at Petmania Kilkenny last Sunday.

From 650 entries nationwide, Samson shone as the deserving winner of the title Petmania Puppy of the Year and amongst a great array of fantastic prizes, will represent the Petmania brand as its mascot for 12 months. He was described by his owner, Carlow woman Rachel McArdle, as “a rescue dog with a huge heart.”

Samson’s early life is a sad tale with a happy ending. His story began in mid January this year when he along with siblings Alvin and Suzi were surrendered into the Offaly Dog Pound at six weeks old. Luckily for him and his siblings a concerned warden, who didn’t think they would survive in the pound at such a young age, contacted Cara Rescue Dogs in Portlaoise to see if they could find foster homes for all three. His siblings Alvin and Suzi were fostered by the one family whilst Samson was fostered alone. His owner Rachel said “this is where Samson got his name as he had to be strong boy.”

The competition which was launched on April 6 in association with Hill’s Pet Nutrition had three rounds which saw entrants whittled down in Round 1 to 60 semi finalists, Round 2 to 12 finalists and finally the overall winner in Round 3.

The competition had a dual function for us,” said Emily Miller, Petmania Sales and Marketing Manager.  “Firstly, it gave us the opportunity to convey to new puppy owners the need to give their puppy the best start in life by choosing the right nutritionally balanced diet coupled with a proper exercise regime. And secondly it provided us with the opportunity to find a puppy that will represent our brand for 12 months with consumers,” she continued. “Samson is a fantastic puppy with a great story and fantastic owners. We’re delighted to have Samson work with us as his story epitomises what we are all about; the promotion of responsible pet ownership,” she remarked.

As part of his winning prize package, Samson has won a year’s supply of Hill’s dog food, Scout Motorola pet camera, full dog groom voucher, Petmania Puppy of the Year trophy and will have the honour of being the Petmania mascot for 12 months.

“I am overwhelmed at the win “, Samson’s owner Rachel  said. “We are on a high after our beautiful boy winning Puppy of the Year and we really enjoyed the experience.”

Tullamore was represented at the final by Ruby, a Cavachon, and the Walsh Family from Killurin.

Petmania is Ireland’s largest pet retailer with 12 stores nationwide. It prides itself on its extensive product range and expert pet care advice. It works with a number of adoption and rescue centres for abandoned pets. The fact that Samson is a rescue dog shows that with a loving and caring family a dog or any pet for that matter, can battle adversity and go on to achieve greatness.