The Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Rangeley Health and Wellness are pleased to announce that the 3rd Annual Best Dog on Earth Day event, a celebration of dogs and Earth Day, was a big success.  Despite the dreary skies, participants and their dogs went out for a 1.5 mile walk and then returned to the Chamber of Commerce for a variety of activities.

The Franklin County Animal Shelter was onsite, providing adoption information and low-cost nail trims, microchips and flea/tick treatments and a portion of the proceeds from the event is donated to the shelter.  The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust provided information on their programs and hiking trails, all of which are dog-friendly. Representatives from the US Border Patrol Rangeley Station were on hand to talk about the work that the Border Patrol K9 handlers and their dogs perform.

Each participant received a raffle ticket for prizes donated by local businesses and individuals: Vet at Your Door, Alpine Shop of Rangeley, Rangeley Red Onion, Rangeley Friends of the Arts, Ecopelagicon, Forks in the Air Mountain Bistro, AJs Cycles, Kathy & Bill Brittain, Jordan Lumber and Tom Wilkey.  The lucky winners were Kerry Gardner, Gemma Leghorn & Ryan Lotti, Connie Copp and Lourrie Chandler.

Winners of the canine contests were determined by applause from the participants.  The winners were (1) Biggest Dog – LUCKY (owned by Karen Seaman), (2) Smallest Dog – OSCAR (owned by Kerry Gardner), (3) Best Owner-Canine Look-Alikes – OAKLEY and owner Sue Bullard, (4) Prettiest Girl – SNOWFLAKE (owned by Dawn Oliveri and (5) Most Handsome Boy – LEO (owned by Gemma Leghorn).

The Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Rangeley Health and Wellness developed the idea to provide a fun event that would  bring the community together, promote physical activity, support animal adoption, provide educational information about protecting the environment and support local businesses, which had donated items for the raffle prizes.

The organizers were pleased with the turnout, look forward to the event next year and thank all the sponsors and participants for a successful event.