CONGRATULATIONS, BUSTER!
We had so many wonderful submissions and contestants in this year’s Nose of Tralee. Thank you to everyone for participating and for helping make this year’s contest a smashing success!
Now we’d like to introduce you to our 2014 Nose of Tralee – the one and only Buster from County Down! Congratulations, Buster, and all of the other 2014 Nose of Tralee finalists!
Introducing…Buster!
Age: 10 years old (DOB 01.08.04)
Breed: Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Special Skills
Buster is very social, loving, always happy & smiling, extremely obedient and loyal. He has achieved his Silver Good Citizen Award and is currently working on his Gold. Buster writes his own blog for our local paper giving dog owners’ advice and general information. He is very involved with Northern Ireland Staffordshire Bull Terrier Rescue and attends and takes part in their charity events to help raise ? for his fellow breed in need. I organised and took part in an abseil off The Europa Hotel in May this year and Buster and I raised ?762. We got 14 other people to take part also and the entire event raised over ?3000 for NISBTR, it’s their biggest fundraiser to date. Buster was waiting at the bottom for all the abseilers and he cheered everyone on who took part.
Favourite Food
Busters loves all food apart from bananas and potato bread. He especially loves strawberries.
Favourite Toy
Tennis balls & footballs. He has lots of toys and loves going to our local pet store and picking his own toys. He knows everyone in the pet store and they all make such a fuss of him, which he of course loves.
Favourite Place to Sleep
In mummy’s bed with the electric blanket on. He has a lovely faux fur & leather bed but he prefers to snuggle in with mummy & daddy, he’s like a big teddy bear.
Favourite Activity
Going for walks to the forest or the beach. He loves going to new places and likes to explore.
How did your dog come into your life? What’s their story?
Buster has been my best friend for the last 10 years and goes everywhere with me. He is always by my side and I love coming home to his big smiley face. He makes me proud everyday and is the love of my life.
What makes your dog and their breed so special? What makes Buster the most pawtastic pet EVER!
Buster is a Staffordshire bull terrier and his breed is very wrongly depicted by today’s society. His breed, because of their muscular build and tenacity, are constantly used and abused and as a result they are constantly under attack by the media. SBT’s reputation is tarnished because of what they look like and not what they act like. When you own a SBT you see their true character, they make great family pets, they are loyal, loving and absolutely brilliant with people and children. The frustration myself and other SBT owners feel, when we know and understand their true temperament yet ignorance and lack of knowledge still abounds. Buster flys the flag for SBT’s and promotes positive staffy attitude everywhere he goes. Our dream is to one day meet Paul O’Grady who, like Buster, is an ambassador for promoting the SBT breed with the help of Battersea dogs and cats home and their “Staffies they’re softer than you think” campaign. Maybe with Buster being Crowned the Nose of Tralee our dream will become a reality.
Why did you decide to enter the Nose of Tralee?
I saw the Nose of Tralee advertised on Facebook and thought it was a fantastic competition and Buster just had to enter it.
How did you prepare for the contest and get votes?
Buster writes his own dog blog for our local paper so he has a lot of loyal fans from this and he is well known locally from attending NI staffy rescue events. He is very well known on Facebook through various staffy rescue/dog rescue sites and they all voted for him as well as all his local fans. Buster had an overwhelming 693 votes and his votes soared from day one.
What did it mean to you and Buster to get to the finals of the Nose Of Tralee? And then go on to win the title of 2014 Nose of Tralee?
I was thrilled when I got the call that Buster would be representing his County but for him to go on to be the winner was absolutely amazing. I think it is a real honour to be crowned the winner especially as all the other County Noses were so worthy of the title. The other Noses should all be very proud of themselves and I’m sure their counties are extremely proud of them. We are all stars!
What has Buster been up to since he was crowned the 2014 Nose of Tralee? Has he been getting lots of special attention?
So far since being crowed the Nose of Tralee he has featured in our local papers and also some of the national papers. The positive media attention is fantastic for his breed and hopefully he will continue to feature in the media due to his win over the next year. Buster will be off to Dublin soon for a photo shot with David McAuley and he will love every minute of it as he is such a poser.
What did you enjoy most about the Nose Of Tralee?
I enjoyed everything about the Nose of Tralee competition. From first applying to getting the phone call advising he was representing Co Down, to waiting on his sash arriving in the post, to taking his pics in his sash and then the checking the votes everyday to see how he was doing. The entire competition was great fun!
What advice would you give to the next Nose of your county?
Go for it!!! I would encourage everyone to enter their pets. Believe and you’ll achieve!
How is your Buster handling his new found fame?
Buster is very social and absolutely loves being the centre of attention so being the Nose of Tralee and being in the limelight is right up his street. He was born to be in the spotlight and will lap up all the attention.
If Buster could be any super hero who would he be?
Buster the Super Staffy, with the power to change the perception of his breed and promote positive staffy attitude.
Meet Buster On Video!!
