Local pup wins Minnesota’s Top Dog award

It’s not uncommon for pet owners to gush over their furry family members and share photos of them on social media, but how many can say their dog won a professional photoshoot and are featured in a calendar?

   Thanks to an annual contest by the Animal Humane Society and Love From Minnesota, Shelly McHenry, of Buffalo, can now proudly say this of her puppy, Asher.

Meet Asher

   At just over a year old, Asher has already made a name for himself as one of Minnesota’s “Top Dogs.” The Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog) wooed voters with his soulful gaze, neatly-groomed fur, and charming personality.

   “He is our fourth sheltie, so we’re kind of stuck on the breed – we love them!” Shelly McHenry shared.

   Not only does Asher’s playful behavior show his cheerful personality, but his name speaks to his positivity as well.

   “‘Asher’ means ‘happy and blessed,’” McHenry explained. “I’m going through some health struggles, so I was thinking of a name that I could find comfort and encouragement in.”

   McHenry began looking up Biblical and meaningful names, and landed on the name ‘Asher.’

   “He is so happy,” McHenry said. “I always say he spreads his love around, because when someone comes in, he wiggles from nose to tail. He is definitely happy, and he blesses us.”

   Even as a young puppy, Asher surprised McHenry with how easy he was to train.

   “If only every dog were as easy to train as him!” she said. “I was a little nervous, because we had never gotten a puppy before, but Asher practically potty trained himself. He is so smart!”

   Asher’s ability to master challenging tricks, like finding specific people and ringing a bell to go outside, helped him strike the perfect pose for a photo that would help him become one of Minnesota’s “Top Dogs.”

The Contest

   Each year, the Animal Humane Society and Love From Minnesota partner to design a calendar, which is then sold in all six Love from Minnesota stores, as well as at the Minnesota State Fair, with proceeds from the calendar sales benefitting the Humane Society.

   As part of Love From Minnesota’s month-long “Woofda” celebration in May, Minnesotans who love their puppers had the opportunity to enter their furry friend in the Minnesota’s Top Dog contest.

   Once a photo and description were sent in, candidates were encouraged to reach out to friends and family to vote; the 12 dogs with the most votes would win a spot in the calendar. When McHenry was watching the news, there was an advertisement on TV for it, and her daughter insisted they enter Asher. After submitting a photo and brief description, McHenry reached out to friends and family to vote.

   “Once we started looking and noticing that he had quite a few votes, we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, he could win!’” McHenry shared. “We started asking all of our friends, and then we found out you could vote every day. The night before [the contest ended], we really ramped up the voting.”

   When the results came in, Asher had placed #13 out of the 2,447 entries – one place short of making the Top 12 for the calendar. However, a few weeks after the results were announced, McHenry was emailed by the contest organizers, and told that, since another dog had to withdraw, Asher, as the runner-up, with 588 total votes, was now in.

The Photoshoot

 Having secured a spot as one of Minnesota’s Top Dogs, a professional photoshoot was scheduled. All photo locations were at iconic Minnesota locations, and Asher’s was at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. One of the photos from the shoot will be featured as the main photo for the month of December in the calendar.

   “It was so fun!” McHenry said of the photoshoot. “For being as young as he was, we were so impressed. There were so many distractions – people, bikes, other dogs – and he sat there, and was just a ham.”

   McHenry would instruct Asher to “sit, wait, and look,” and after the photo was taken and they said “okay,” Asher would run up to the photographer and give a bunch of kisses.

   “If I would have known it was going to be a month-long contest, where you have to vote every day, I probably wouldn’t have done it, because it does take a lot of time,” McHenry said, laughing. “But it’s fun now that we can call him our little Top Dog.”

Being a Top Dog

 Though he will soon be featured in a calendar on display across the state, Asher hasn’t let the spotlight distract him from the simple pleasures in life. He is still focused on enjoying time with his family and relaxing, whether it be a boat ride, swimming, running through the sprinklers, bird watching, or playing with his Frisbee or stuffed animals. Asher will also be keeping busy this winter when he starts agility classes.

   The Top Dog calendars will soon be available at the Love From Minnesota stores, and at the State Fair, so be sure to purchase your own copy and check out all of the Top Dogs!

   For those wanting to meet Asher, he will be participating in a Top Dog meet-and-greet at the Mall of America on Friday, August 20, for photos and pawtographs.