Newtown’s Top Dog

By Dottie Evans

Ginger is a 2-year-old Wheaton terrier recently named Newtown’s “Top Dog” by lottery at the town clerk’s office.

The drawing and contest for Top Dog is a 15-year-long tradition that was started to publicize the need to license and vaccinate all dogs. Licenses cost $8 for spayed and neutered dogs, and $16 for those that have not been “fixed.”

Each year, the Top Dog winner is awarded a special #1 Tag and a basket of goodies, including bones, kibble, and squeaky toys. Having his or her picture in The Bee is another part of the prize. 

Technically, the honor of being Top Dog was bestowed upon Ginger because she was one of the 1,147 dogs who had been licensed as of the cutoff date, July 1. Her number, which was tag #607, was the one that just happened to be drawn. Pure chance, as they say.

But her owners, Steve and Veerle Martino and their two children, Anne, 10, and Pieter, 8, have another opinion about that.

They believe Ginger really is Top Dog, and that her selection had nothing to do with chance. It was entirely appropriate, if not predestined.

Eight-year-old Pieter summed it up most precisely.

“She’s so perfect. She’s not sheddy and she doesn’t do anything wild. She’s happy with no barking and no biting. When she wags her tail, she wiggles her butt.

“The only bad thing that happened was when she was eight months old and she broke her leg in Cape Cod. But that wasn’t her fault.”

Ten-year-old Anne had this to add: “She listens well, and her favorite things are her toys, her bones, her food, and Dad, in that order.

“She even likes going to the kennel. We call it Ginger’s Hotel,” Anne said, referring to the Berkshire Animal Hospital, where Ginger will be staying when the family travels to Sardinia, Italy, for a vacation this summer.

“Her best friend will be staying there too –– a very hyper golden retriever named Cleo –– so it’s something she looks forward to,” Anne added.

Meanwhile, Ginger, looking very fluffy after a “summer shave,” seemed content to be lolling about on the Martino’s back porch with the children fondly draped around her, smiling and licking their faces. Not overly impressed at being Top Dog. Just plain happy being Ginger.