I'm feelin' HOT HOT HOT!!!

Last week, while the rest of the world was busy watching a dog who looks like a mop win Westminster, I was busy competing in the far more interesting Mango Minster, the most prestigious show EVER in the world of blogging, hosted by the One and Only Mango, the Relentlessly Huge.

I entered the Adventure Animal category because, while I'm extremely cute, I work hard as a volunteer therapy dog and entertainer, and I frequently make huge messes by eating and shredding paper products all over the living room, I am, above all, an Adventure Dog.

You can check out my entry here (my Mango Minster 2012 entry) and the post announcing the winners of the Adventure Animal category here (Adventure Animals Winners!).  And here is the final post, announcing the Best in Show winners and all of the winners at the bottom of the post: Best in Show Winners.  If you'd like to read the other entries, go to the Mango Minster blog site and look at the column on the right side of the page.  There were many excellent and very entertaining entries.

Adventures with sea creatures

The results came in last Tuesday, and -- I won I won I won!!! I won THIRD Place in the Adventure Animal category in Mango Minster 2012!  Actually I tied for Third Place with Honey the Great Dane.  Honey's entry was fabulous, and I can think of no greater honor than tying with Honey, a Great Dane who does freestyle(!) and goes on secret missions at the direction of the family cat.

I won a surprise goodie bag that I'm sure will be awesome, but I told my mom that I believe I should get a trophy cup that I can sit in -- just like the mop has.  Mom said that trophies are not traditionally awarded in Mango Minster -- actually the prizes are much nicer things like treats and goodie bags -- but she would see what she could do.

Well, little did I know, my mom has a hidden talent -- trophy making!

Very proud of my Third Place trophy

It's so shiny, it reflects my very good-looking yellow lab head

Okay, enough posing

My trophy sitting on the mantle

And now for my long awaited (it's been five whole days since my win was announced) and highly anticipated acceptance speech:

I would first like to thank Mango and his momma for all the work they put into Mango Minster. It must be an enormous undertaking -- almost as enormous as Mango himself. It was so much fun to participate and to witness all of the behind-the-scenes action and intrigue. We REALLY appreciate it, and we hope it wasn't too taxing on your mentals. And it was awfully nice of Dexter to take over blogging duties while Mango was occupied with Mango Minster.

I would also like to thank the Adventure Animal judges Zim and Dave. They were faced with the very difficult task of selecting three (okay, so they picked four) winners out of 20 winning entries.

I'd like to thank my fellow competitors and their families and IT staff. Your adventures and your entries were very impressive. I had no idea I would be up against bicontinental adventurers and secret agents! I am honored to have competed against Adventure Animals of your caliber. I'm also thrilled to see that so many other dogs -- and cats and horses and frogs and hermit crabs -- are having adventures, in their backyards or in the Swiss Alps.

I'd like to thank all my new blogging friends for enthusiastically welcoming me into the Dogs With Blogs community. And my less new blogging friend Southernmost Moose for introducing me to Mango Minster and DWB to begin with.

Many thanks to all my friends, new and old, who voted for me and supported me in this endeavor.

Of course I have to thank my parents for making all my adventures possible, and my IT staff (AKA mom) and photographer (AKA dad) for assisting me in documenting my adventures.

I would be remiss if I didn't thank the people who have brought adventure to the dogs of Richmond, Virginia: our Dog Scout Troop Leader Jennifer (who founded our local troop, Troop #194), our hiking guide and the founder of Canine Adventure, Josh, and our hiking guide, Brian. Jennifer, Josh, and Brian are rock stars. They have organized and led us on amazing hikes, shown us all the great trails in Richmond, and inspired us to do more and more hiking on our own. They have fearlessly led us through freezing cold rivers and smelly mud, rock-hopping and over dams and bridges and all kinds of scary obstacles. They have helped us build confidence, and they have shown us a great time, over and over again.

I also want to thank my hiking buddies, my Dog Scout friends, my trick dog friends, and my therapy dog friends for sharing my adventures. Since I'm an only child, I truly value my time with other doggies, and adventures are more fun when other pups are along.

And finally, I thank my girlfriend and best friend Willow, for always standing by me, for being extremely loving and supportive of all my pursuits, and for accompanying me on many of my adventures.

Thank you all from the bottom of my big puppy heart!

Last night I was napping on the couch next to mom and I was dreaming, so my paws were moving and I was making little dreamy noises. And all of a sudden mom heard this thump thump thump. I was wagging my tail in my dream! I don't usually remember my dreams, but I know I must have been dreaming about Mango Minster and how I am, at long last, a champion show dog.