Story by Colleen Keefe Photos courtesy Dennise Terminel
The Tucson Dog Magazine held its first ever cover dog contest to bring attention to the rescue dogs that grace and enrich our lives. Our cover dog photo shoot, which was open to the public, was held at Tucson Rescue Now (TRN) in mid-October. The non-profit pairs potential adopters with primarily older, hard-to-place dogs. Proceeds from the event went to TRN.
Our cover dog winner Kyzer is a 7-year-old Pit Bull Boxer mix. This was his modeling debut.
Kyzer, like most rescues, has humble beginnings. When he was just two months old, he was found near a supermarket with cactus needles in his belly. He underwent surgery to remove the cactus. Kyzer was adopted from Pima Animal Care Center (PACC) by Dennise Terminel.
When Terminel came to PACC to view Kyzer, he was not there. The pup was still under observation following his surgery. So, in lieu of seeing her new puppy, Terminel went to his kennel to read his bio. Right next to Kyzer’s kennel was a litter of eight pups. One instantly caught Terminel’s attention. “Oh my god, that’s like Wishbone [the T.V. series] and I fell in love with him as well,” Terminel recalled. She named that puppy Looney.
Kyzer hit the jackpot that day, scoring a new home, someone to love him, and a new brother.
Terminel, who had never owned a dog before, suddenly had two. “They’re my little hairy children,” Terminel said.
Kyzer spends his days hanging out with Looney – who also had was a contestant in the cover dog contest. They’re close to each other -they’re brothers. He loves food and loves to swim. “He does this look. We call it the Elvis – one side of his lip will go up if he wants to go out – it’s funny – its mainly on the left side, I don’t know how he does it, but it’s funny,” Terminel laughed. “We call him Osito which means little bear. He finds the darkest corner in the room to chill and stays there for hours. Unlike Looney who is hyper and the troublemaker,” Terminal said. Kyzer is most definitely a mama’s boy.
As any proud pet owner would, Terminel voted for her dog daily. She encouraged her family and friends, co-workers, co-worker’s family and friends, and even her family from Mexico to vote. “My boyfriend is part of an organization called the Thunder Mountain Moose Riders. They also voted for my Kyser,” Terminel said. According to Terminel, the organization recently participated in a charitable event for Cause for Paws. Wow Kyzer – you’ve got the backing of a charitable motorcycle club – That dog’s got swag!
Thank you to all of Kyser’s voters and everyone who voted for any of the amazing dogs in The Tucson Dog Magazine Cover Dog Contest @ www.thetucsondog.com. Yes, this is a shameless plug, but for a great reason. Reading the Tucson Dog Magazine is the best source of information and fascinating stories for all things dog in Tucson.
The Tucson Dog Magazine’s photographer Candice Eaton photographed scores of doggies for the three-day event. (Thank you, Candice!) You can see all of our amazing contestants in Andy’s Antics Holiday Edition in this issue.
