Ocean City's Dogs Of The Year To Compete For 'Dog Of The Decade' Crown

Ocean City, NJ -- Ocean City will crown the Dog of the Decade just in time for Halloween.

The event will take place at the 6th Street Recreation building, located next to the football field in Ocean City on Sunday,Oct. 30. Festivities begin at 11:30 a.m., and the crowning will take place at noon.

The Dog of the Decade will be the canine who has raised the most money to benefit the Humane Society of Ocean City, the society announced Tuesday morning.

Most of the contestants are previous Ocean City Dogs of the Year. From 2005-2015, they brought money in to benefit the Ocean City Dog Park of Cape May County.

A Whippet mix named Olive and Roscoe, a Cane Corso, will compete this year, for the first time. They are available for adoption at the Humane Society of Ocean City. Olive and Roscoe have run on a platform of “Adopt me. I need a forever home.”

Residents and visitors to Ocean City have cast their votes for Dog of the Decade, by voting with monetary donations. This election benefits the entire canine community.

• 2005-Dylan, White Standard Poodle, Gary and Gay Dillon
• 2006-Mocha, Chocolate Lab, Sue and Gary Bechtold
• 2007-Scruffy, Rescue mix, Debbie and Harry Buckley
• 2008-Maggie, Gordon Setter, Brian and Tina Kolmer
• 2009-Wesley Bass, Australian Shepherd, Brian O'Donnell
• 2010-Mae, Black Standard Poodle, Janice Mannal
• 2011-Bailey and Riley, Boston Terriers, Dawn and Harry Vanderslice
• 2012-Misty, Jack and Joan Billet
• 2013-Bailey, Chocolate Lab, Patti McBride and Skip Lipset
• 2014-Albert, Springer Spaniel, Ellen Senft
• 2015-Mr. P.W. Scrubbs, Golden Retriever, Stephanie Lindley

Calendars featuring all of the contestants will be for sale at the crowning.

The event will include live music and a Halloween costume contest open to all canines.

The costume contest will follow the crowning and is being sponsored by Animal House.

There is no entrance fee, and prizes will be awarded in beautiful, scary, silly, and other categories.

“We are grateful to all of the Pooch Parents and everyone who voted and helped in the contest,” Contest Manager Tina Wagner said. “Ocean City really is America’s Greatest Family Resort. This community continues to show up and work together to demonstrate that dogs are family too.”

Patch file photo