EDMONDS – Bark-bark, woof-woof, grrrr.
That’s dog-speak for “no cats allowed,” according to an Edmonds gift shop that is holding a contest to find a new canine mascot.
The rules didn’t stop Lauren Estep, a 9-year-old Seattle girl, from entering her hamster, Garfield, in the contest.
“I think Garfield is probably going to win,” Lauren said. “I don’t think there’s any other hamster, and a lot of people are talking about him. And, because he kind of acts like a dog.”
Garfield, a gold-colored hamster, is up against about 20 dogs that were entered in the contest at Faces of the NW gift shop. Last month, roughly 400 customers of the waterfront shop cast secret ballots to decide the winning pooch or hamster.
The votes are scheduled to be tallied at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the shop during an after-hours social of the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, store owner Mark Ukelson said.
Ukelson plans to hang a framed picture of the winning pet in his shop.
“It’s a very playful thing, that’s all,” he said. “It’s a good human-interest, canine-interest and hamster-interest story.”
Alison Estep, Lauren’s mom, said neither she nor her daughter can have a dog because both have asthma and allergies. Instead, they bought Garfield in May 2006.
The hamster – which sleeps in an old, gray sock with a hole in the toe – is like a dog, Lauren said. Besides having four legs and a tail, Garfield likes to be held and petted, and he loves eating dog biscuits, she said.
“He didn’t like his usual hamster treats,” Lauren said.
In the Edmonds contest, Garfield seems to be running with the big dogs just fine, Ukelson said.
“Although the ballot box is sealed, Garfield is getting some serious support,” he said. “He just might take this contest.”
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