The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Arbroath vizsla Zander is soaring towards the top prize in a BBC photography competition.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Angus pet pooch is flying high in magazine contest
An energetic Angus pet is flying high in his bid to be top dog in a nationwide photographic competition.
The acrobatic mid-air shot of Hungarian vizsla Zander on Arbroath’s Elliot Beach is leading the online poll to be king of the canines in a BBC Countryfile magazine contest which has already pulled in thousands of votes.
The owner of the four-year-old bundle of energy revealed her pet’s popularity is just the latest part of Zander’s rocketing worldwide profile.
Susan Spink created a Facebook fan page for Zander the Flying Dog after a remarkable online response to a shot of her pet in the air on the Angus sands.
Since then she has managed to add many more shots of the flying vizsla to the site, and build up a following around a thousand-strong for Zander’s Instagram account.
He is currently well in the lead of the Dog of the Year poll on the countryfile. com website, with more than 3,700 votes as the most popular pic.
Susan said: “People often come up to us and say they recognise him.
“He has his own Facebook and Instagram accounts and we have followers from all over the world, including America and Canada.
“He is our first dog. We were looking for an energetic pet and he is definitely that,” added Susan, office manager for Peter Stirling at Windyhills Farm outside Arbroath.
Entries are still being submitted to the competition and voting remains open until the end of September, but Susan remains hopeful Zander’s social media profile will help keep him in front.
She said town businesses have been helpful in promoting his bid for success, including the Tutties Neuk pub opposite Arbroath FC’S Gayfield Park which should guarantee Zander the support of fans of the Red Lichties.
“We would love it if they vote for him, and the easiest way is to select the ‘most popular’ drop down option on the competition website,” said Susan.