You can vote for the best pet in Rochester and support a great cause. (Yes, this is beer-related.)

Here's why it should be Earl the donkey. (No, Earl is not an actual donkey. He's a rescue pup with the biggest ears and biggest heart in Rochester.)

This is actually beer-related! It’s fun, cheeky, and heartening.

And since this is my platform, I’m gonna try to influence the voting John Oliver bird-style. (All hail the regal pūteketeke.)

(I normally clear my wild ideas with my wife, Cass. But I’m gonna be brave and not clear it with her, even though she is the smartest, most amazing, most responsible adult I know. It’s still wild that she chooses to hang out with me.)

Verona Street Animal Society, the big-hearted pet adoption agency and shelter in the city of Rochester, is holdings its annual Roc Top Pet contest. Each vote must be accompanied by a donation to VSAS, making it one of the organization’s biggest fundraisers of the year. And to top it off, the winning pet gets an incredible prize package, as well as its face on an upcoming beer can from Three Heads Brewing.

So this newsletter is intended to both highlight this great competition and encourage my readers to cast votes for one of my favorite dogs ever, Earl the donkey. (Like I said in the subhed, Earl isn’t a donkey. He’s a Verona rescue, a foster fail, with gigantic ears and the sweetest face.)

Right now, Earl sits in 27th place in the voting, some 300 votes behind the leaders. But I am encouraging y’all to donate to VSAS and help elevate Earl to the top pet throne he deserves. Voting is open now and runs through the end of the month. If we don’t win this election, I promise I won’t lead an angry horde to the steps of VSAS, but I will be very disappointed. We can do this!

You can vote here: https://www.gogophotocontest.com/vsas/entries/488951.

If nothing else, take a few minutes to read about all of these wonderful pets and enjoy these amazing pictures: https://www.gogophotocontest.com/vsas/search.

Photo and aside: This is Randall. He’s not nominated in this contest (yet). But he’s definitely in my top five all-time favorite dogs (alongside my parents rambunctious labs, Ruthie and Gracie). That could be a future newsletter — my all-time dog rankings. (I’d have to pair it with beers, so my wife would sign off on it). Anyways, Randall rules. His owners, Kaylin and Paulie, are equally amazing. Thanks for humoring me here.

Here are some more details about the competition:

Entries remain open for the contest. But as VSAS cautions, the sooner you enter, the longer you’ll have to collect votes. All you have to do is donate $10, upload a photo of your pet, and put together a short summary of why they rule.

Voting opened up Monday and runs through Thursday, Feb. 29 Each vote costs $1 and voters are encouraged to vote as many times as they’d like. (Note: This is unlike our most recent presidential election where I was only allowed to vote once and wasn’t permitted to vote on behalf of my deceased family members.)

Earl lives with my good buddies, Zach and Cait Clicquennoi, and his older sister, Nori, also a rescue . Here’s a bit more about the donkey:

Meet Earl! Part pittie mix, and possibly part donkey? He gets a lot of "what is he?!"

The goofiest guy imaginable, Earl was rescued from Verona after he was a "foster fail," in 2021. With a heart as big as his ears, Earl loves to cuddle, and prefers to sleep under the blankets, either up against his humans, or under his sister. Earl may only be a two-trick pony, but he really sits with conviction, and gives a mean "paw," even when you don't ask for it. Interests include: eating zucchini, long walks along the canal, drooling and invading your personal space at any given moment. Earl takes "office hours," by sleeping on the couch in the office, frequently gets the zoomies and never ceases to make people laugh. He is down for any adventure, anytime, so long as he gets to go via a ride in the "T-R-U-C-K." (He knows this word so careful if you say it around him).

Earl is just an all around good boy who loves every human, dog, and creature he meets. Help Earl become ROC's Top Pet!

PRIZES!

Many will be awarded, but the coolest is unquestionably the opportunity to see your pet’s face on a can of beer. And those cans will see pretty wide distribution throughout the Rochester region. So it will be a great chance to spread the adorable gospel. The talented brewing team will craft the latest iteration of Roc Top Pet Ale and then there will be a release party on Sunday, March 24.

Of note, if the pet was adopted from Rochester Animal Services, it will be awarded 50 extra votes.

Prizes will be awarded for the first through fifth-place finishers.

Let’s get Earl’s adorable face (and ears) on a beer can, so the whole community can appreciate him!

(UPDATE: Cass texted me within minutes of this newsletter going live and asked why I hadn’t thrown support behind our three cats. Busted.)