The Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce and Rangeley Health and Wellness held its third annual Best Dog on Earth Day event, a celebration of dogs and Earth Day on April 20. Despite the dreary skies, participants and their dogs went out for a 1.5 mile walk and then returned to the Chamber of Commerce for a variety of activities.

The Franklin County Animal Shelter was onsite to provide adoption information and low-cost nail trims, microchips and flea/tick treatments. A portion of the proceeds from the event was donated to the shelter.

The Rangeley Lakes Heritage Trust provided information on their programs and hiking trails, all of which are dog-friendly. Representatives from the U.S. Border Patrol Rangeley Station were on hand to talk about the work that the Border Patrol K9 handlers and their dogs perform.

Each participant received a raffle ticket for prizes donated by the following local businesses and individuals: Vet at Your Door, Alpine Shop of Rangeley, Rangeley Red Onion, Rangeley Friends of the Arts, Ecopelagicon, Forks in the Air Mountain Bistro, AJs Cycles, Kathy & Bill Brittain, Jordan Lumber and Tom Wilkey. The winners were Kerry Gardner, Gemma Leghorn and Ryan Lotti, Connie Copp and Lourrie Chandler.

Winners of the canine contests were determined by applause from the participants, they were:
• Biggest Dog — Lucky, owned by Karen Seaman;
• Smallest Dog — Oscar, owned by Kerry Gardner;
• Best Owner-Canine Look-Alikes — Oakley and owner Sue Bullard;
• Prettiest Girl — Snowflake, owned by Dawn Oliveri; and
• Most Handsome Boy — Leo, owned by Gemma Leghorn.

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