Updated: 9:33 PM CDT April 18, 2021
DES MOINES, Iowa In front of a crowd of about 300 people, Myrtle Mae, once a foster dog, won the crown of the 2021 Most Beautiful Bulldog Contest at Drake University on Sunday afternoon.
Myrtle is owned by 2003 Drake Law graduate Whitney Bogdanski, who fostered her in 2020. The family fell in love with her immediately and knew she needed to be a permanent part of the family.
“She wanted to be loved and it was so easy to love her,” Bogdanski said. “We gave her a lot of love and she opened up.”
20 English bulldogs were judged in the contest on Sunday to kick off the full week of Drake Relays festivities.
Drake University to host Beautiful Bulldog contest in person this year desmoinesregister.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from desmoinesregister.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
NOTEBOOK: Drake s Griff II gets limited-edition bobblehead
BY MICHAEL CRUMB, Senior Staff Writer Tuesday, March 16, 2021 11:25 AM
Bulldogs are known for being lazy but fierce, loving and protective, and having an insatiable appetite for both food and life.
But how about having their own bobblehead?
When I learned that Griff II, Drake University’s popular live mascot, was getting his own bobblehead, I felt compelled to learn more. (For full disclosure, my bulldogs and Griff II are friends, both on social media and in person. Yes, my dogs have played with Griff II and it’s hard not having it go to their heads, bobble or otherwise.)
3/2/2021
This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled an officially licensed, limited-edition bobblehead of Griff II, Drake Universityâs popular live mascot. Griff II took over mascot duties on July 1, 2020, the day after the retirement of his predecessor, Griff. This marks the first bobblehead of Griff II, and it was produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, an official licensee and manufacturer of Drake and NCAA bobbleheads.
Sitting on a base shaped as the Drake University logo and bearing his name, Griff II is wearing a harness that also sports the Drake Bulldogs logo. The bobbleheads, which just arrived and ship now, are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museumâs Online Store as well as Drake University Book Store located in the Olmstead Center. Each bobblehead is individually numbered to 2,021, and they are $25 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order for orders placed online.