Westport puppy represents local store at Petmania's Puppy of the Year competition

Petmania hosted the final of the Puppy of the Year competition over the weekend with Westport puppy ‘Bear Boyle’, a maltese, representing the Mayo store in the final. 'Donut', a mastiff puppy from Laois won the overall title on the day, fighting off stiff competition from over 1,600 puppies in total from across the country.

Speaking about reaching the overall final and representing the Westport store in Kilkenny, Bear’s owner Karen Boyle said: “The excitement of getting our first ever puppy has only been surpassed by being selected as a finalist for the Petmania Puppy of the Year competition. It gave our family a terrific boost. It was a great reward for our kids for looking after our puppy 'Bear' so well.”

The English Mastiff puppy 'Donut' from Mountrath, who was the finalist for the Portlaoise store, won the hearts of the judges because of his chilled and clever personality. In second place was gentle labrador retriever, 'Molly Saoirse', a therapy puppy for Clonakilty Community Hospital in Cork, while in third place was cocker spaniel puppy, 'Biscuit Dunphy', from Roscommon.

Speaking about this year's Puppy of the Year contest, Petmania’s spokesperson Emily Miller, said:

“This year’s competition has been so much fun. We had over 1,600 entrants and thousands of votes cast in-store and online so it’s a thrill to see Ireland’s puppy owners get so involved. Choosing a winner from the final 16 was very tough.”

The annual Puppy of the Year competition was open to puppies aged 12 months and under, and entries for the competition were open during the month of September with every single puppy entered receiving a free puppy pack, sponsored by BETA dog food.