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Retired track greyhound wins the race to be 2018’s Pet Idol

KIOWA, THE WINNER of the 2018 Daily News’ NIE Pet Idol competition, takes a much-needed run at Ranger Field in Iron Mountain. The 4-year-old brindle greyhound just edged out a cat and a boxer dog to take the title and now will represent the Daily News’ Newspapers in Education program. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — He’s not a tiger or a deer, but he is the new mascot for the Daily News’ Newspapers in Education program.

Kiowa, a 4-year-old brindle greyhound whose color and lean build makes children sometimes guess he’s another creature, came ahead by a nose in the race to become the 2018 Pet Idol.

“This was our closest Pet Idol competition to date. The lead changed hand many times,” said Jennifer Flynn, NIE coordinator for The Daily News.

Yet it’s perhaps a fitting finish for a former racing greyhound.

Jasmine, a Siamese-type cat with tabby points, and Bella the boxer took a close second and third, respectively.

Kiowa the greyhound, the Daily News’ NIE Pet Idol for 2018. (Theresa Proudfit/Daily News photo)

Motivated by Deb Constantini, who has 2017 NIE Idol-winning cat Stella Bella, Kiowa’s owners Carol Paisley and her son, Ed Lovrich, decided to enter the adopted greyhound the contest for the first time.

“I’m in the Drawing Room Club (a local study group) with Deb and she pushed me to enter Kiowa because he is so unusual-looking,” Paisley said.

In fact, “youngsters often think he is a deer or even a tiger,” she said.

After the family poodle passed away last April, Paisley took her youngest son’s advice and went through the certification process to adopt a greyhound.

“I always had poodles, but my younger son has always had greyhounds,” she said.

The idea of taking in a greyhound sounded good to older brother Lovrich as well.

“The retired racers need to be adopted. They deserve to go somewhere and have a new home,” he said.

Kiowa competed in 60 races in Florida area under the name Hashtag Stanton before retirement.

He came to Paisley and Lovrich through Allies for Greyhounds Inc. in lower Michigan. According to their website, they look out for the welfare of former racing greyhounds, finding homes where they can live as pets. The group works as well to educate the public about their qualities as pets and their care.

Although Kiowa didn’t participate in the program, Allies for Greyhounds also matches greyhounds with prison inmates for six to eight weeks to help the dogs adjust to life off the track.

“They just train for eight hours a day. They learn to sit, stand, come, do stairs — racing dogs have no familiarity with stairs,” Paisley explained.

Lovrich said Kiowa is very well behaved, though they fear if he gets loose they might never see him again.

“They are trained to run, so if we don’t have him on a leash, he would be gone,” he said.

And Kiowa needs to run often for exercise, which is why Paisley advocates having a dog park in the area.

“It’s hard to find places to let him run because he needs to be in a fenced-in area,” she said.

But as a pet, Kiowa’s desire to dash is his only downside.

“He’s just a good old boy. He is so laid back and he never barks,” Lovrich said.

Paisley agrees. “He’s kind of needy; he wants to be cuddled and he is a leaner,” she said.

Having a greyhound in the house was such a good fit that Kiowa is expected to have a brother or sister soon. Paisley and Lovrich are currently looking to adopt another greyhound.

In addition to having his photo in the paper two days a week for a year, Kiowa as NIE Pet Idol for 2018 also received a gift card to Pet Supplies Plus.

This is the sixth year of the popular competition that invites residents in the region to submit photos of their living pet and cast unlimited 25-cent votes through the contest’s three rounds. Ballot stuffing was encouraged, and all proceeds benefit the NIE program with area schools.

“I would like to congratulate our winner and thank all of the participants and voters of our 2018 Pet Idol,” Flynn said. “I am looking forward to holding this competition again next year.”

For more information or to sign up to get papers in the classroom, contact Flynn at 906-774-2772, ext. 18.

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