Sixth grader Ella Dearth said her three-year-old dog Mochi is kind and goofy. For most Seattle residents, the minutes before 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 30 were ordinary. But in three homes across the city, a decisive moment was near, and each passing minute was a nailbiter.
Eleven-year-old Ella Dearth had just finished horseback riding and was heading back to her Queen Anne home, a drive she later called “the most intense” of her life. Her dad, Jim, was so nervous that he slipped out of a work dinner just to check his phone for results.
Over in Capitol Hill, 33-year-old McKenna Lux and her husband tried distracting themselves with Dancing with the Stars, refreshing their browser every few seconds. And in northwest Seattle, Ruthanne Rankin was glued to her phone as well. A friend nervously texted her, “This is a lot better than following the midterm election.”
At stake wasn’t politics or the direction of an entire country, but rather, a question that was—for many—just as urgent: Who would be named Seattle’s cutest pet?
The answer arrived at exactly 8 p.m., when the Seattle Animal Shelter’s first-ever Picture Pawfect photo contest closed and votes were in for the more than 160 pets competing for the title. The winner: Ella’s three-year-old Australian labradoodle, Mochi.
“My dad texted me, ‘Winner, winner, chicken dinner,’ and I knew,” Ella said.
The online fundraiser invited people to submit photos and vote for their favorites at $1 per vote. The top two pets will be featured on the shelter’s outreach van, which appears at adoption events and the shelter’s free monthly pet vaccination clinics. In its inaugural year, the contest raised more than $22,500 to support SAS programs that help connect Seattle’s pets with forever homes and keep them safe and healthy.
As Seattle’s only open-admission shelter, the Seattle Animal Shelter takes in every pet that comes through its doors. Last year, that meant providing life-saving vaccines for over 1,500 animals through its free community pet vaccination clinics, moving 1,500 pets into loving homes, providing free and life-saving medical care to 2,091 pets, reuniting 600 lost or stray pets with their families, completing over 2,500 parks patrols, and investigating more than 6,500 animal welfare cases.
The online fundraiser was a chance to help raise funds to support these programs, as well as a chance to bring community together around a shared love for pets.
For Ella, the competition was an opportunity to show Seattle what she’s always known: Mochi is one-of-a-kind. He’s goofy, affectionate, playful, and gentle enough to help a couple of Ella’s friends overcome their fear of dogs.
Ella once considered training him for agility competitions, but the dream was put to rest when Mochi walked under—rather jumped through—the obstacle she built for him. She then investigated dog beauty pageants, which led her to the Picture Pawfect contest. Determined to boost Mochi’s profile, she even convinced her school’s newspaper at Seattle Country Day School to start a “Pet of the Month” feature, with Mochi as its inaugural star.
But Mochi wasn’t the only furry contender with a loyal fan base.
Ruthanne rooted for Vanessa, her nine-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, who she met in 2019 while volunteering at Seattle Humane. Vanessa had just undergone eyelid surgery, struggled with stairs, and feared kitchen tile, traits that may have scared off most potential adopters but not Ruthanne.
“Vanessa is goofy, not the brainiest of canines, loves the water, and has two speeds: 15 seconds of zoomies or lying in the sun,” Ruthanne said. “As long as you are not a puppy or a cat, Vanessa will love you.”
And McKenna championed Kingsley, her green-eyed, approximately 10-year-old cat. Kingsley came into her life timid and scared, but with patience, treats, and plenty of gravy, he transformed.
“I call him my Benjamin Button cat because he’s become more playful and spry with age,” McKenna said.
Today, he enjoys lap time, peacock feathers, and supervising the household. He even tolerates a daily asthma inhaler—mostly for the treat afterward.
On the contest’s final day, all three pets seemed largely unaware of the hoopla they’d stirred up.
“The morning of the last day, my wife was like, ‘You have to watch out for that cat,’” Jim said with a laugh while tracking Kingsley’s vote count alongside Mochi’s. By that afternoon, the pets were trading first-place positions as votes poured in.
When the clock hit 8 p.m., the results were clear: out of more than 160 entries, Mochi took first place, Vanessa came in second, and Kingsley placed third.
“Kingsley was passed out asleep on my bed but descended the staircase like a debutante shortly after the contest ended eager to learn the results,” McKenna said.
Mochi seemed equally ready for his close-up. “He seemed to know something was going on because we were all loving on him,” Ella said.
The pets may never understand the suspense they caused on Sept. 30. But thanks to the people who love them, countless other animals and pet owners across Seattle will receive the care, safety, and second chances they deserve.