‘Powderpuff’ pooch crowned the cutest dog in Illinois. Meet our contest winner
An 11-pound Chinese crested dog named Tommy has won the Belleville News Democrat’s cutest dog contest, with 1,131 votes in the final round.
Tommy resides in Swansea with his owners, Shannon and Steven Albert. He is 5 years old and had a rough start in life before being rehomed with the Alberts.
“We got him when he was nine months old, and his breeder sold him and ended up taking him back because in the household he was in, he was being bullied,” Shannon said. “So when he came to us, he was just a wreck, and he didn’t like men.”
It took Tommy about half a day to warm up to Steven, Shannon said, but now the two are as close as can be.
“He is totally living his best life. He is loved and pampered, and just has that personality where I don’t think he’s ever woken up and had a bad day. He’s happy immediately,” Shannon said.
Chinese crested dogs come in two varieties, the hairless and the coated, or “powderpuff.” Tommy is a powderpuff, and the Alberts also have a hairless named Sophie who has the same mother as Tommy.
“They are like the perfect siblings,” Shannon said.
The Alberts were drawn to the Chinese crested because the dogs are playful, alert, smart and loyal, Shannon said, and they’re also small, making them easier to travel with.
“They can be really active with you on the days you’re really active,” Shannon said. “Or if we’ve had three days of gloom and rain, they’re perfectly fine laying on the couch and watching a movie in front of the fireplace.”
Tommy’s day-to-day priority in life is to protect his family from delivery workers, but he also enjoys playing with Sophie, giving love to his humans and chowing down on his favorite snack, half of a cherry tomato.
He also likes to solve food puzzles, although he’s not quite as adept at the more difficult ones as his sister is.
One of the Alberts’ funniest memories of Tommy was when he locked them out of their house.
“He can jump so high that he hit the deadbolt going out to the garage and locked it,” Shannon said. Fortunately the Alberts happened to have a key on them at the time, so they were able to get back inside.
While Chinese crested dogs have won the “World’s Ugliest Dog Contest” before, Shannon said she finds them beautiful.
Tommy, the News-Democrat’s cutest dog poll winner, will move on to a nationwide round this fall to find the cutest pets across McClatchy News’ U.S. market.
“Tommy’s been practicing his poses for years — mostly in exchange for treats. We’re just happy the camera finally caught his good side! Thank you to everyone who voted for Tommy! We love being part of such a wonderful community of pet lovers,” Shannon wrote in an Oct. 31 email to the BND.
In our 2024 cutest dog photo contest, a husky/pomeranian mix puppy named Zoey took the crown, with more than 2,200 votes in the contest’s final round. If you’re interested in some of our other previous bracket competitions, don’t miss southwestern Illinois’ choice for the best coffee shop or top pizza parlor.
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