Northland’s Dogs Compete for the Title of “Cutest Puppy”

40 dogs compete in the annual Beargrease Cutest Puppy Contest

DULUTH, Minn.- What is Beargrease without the annual cutest puppy competition?

The Beargrease cutest puppy contest is an annual tradition that’s become so popular it attracts people from all over the Midwest.

“The public comes in and takes a ballot and votes for the number which is the cutest puppy, which is very hard when you have 40 of them,” contest coordinator Donna Lee Beaupre said.

Over 40 tried to compete, but between dogs, owners and over a thousand voters, space was limited to the first ones who signed up.

“It’s a wide variety of dogs. Sizes… shapes,” Beupre said. “And the puppies… Some are kind of reserved. Some are outgoing, playful.”

The only requirements are puppies must be 4 to 9 months old, have proof of vaccination, and of course be really, really cute.

“I don’t know how you’d even pick. I try not to vote because it’s tough… It’s tough,” Beaupre said.

In the end, the top three spots for cutest puppy went to Meatloaf the Newfoundland, Tugboat the English Bulldog and none other than Rocky the Pyrenees going home with the gold, a cash prize and all the dog food he could dream of.