Murph to represent Carlow in national pet competition

The friendliest dog in Carlow has been selected to represent the county in a national best pet competition.

Murph, who lives in Ballinabrana with his owners, Sarah Bickerstaffe and Conor Murphy, is a beautiful Golden Retriever who makes friends wherever he goes. He’s one of just 32 finalists across Ireland in this year’s Nose of Tralee competition – a pageant for pets run by Pet Sitters Ireland where personality counts as much as good looks!

“Murph gets a great deal of attention wherever he goes. When we’re out and about in Ballinabrana, the children love him and everyone wants to pet him. He’s so friendly, he loves it!” said Sarah. 

Every county in Ireland is represented with the 32 finalists being chosen from an impressive pool of 1,650 entries. Murph is among the 29 dogs and three cats that have made it through to the finals.

Sarah nominated her beloved pooch for the competition after their dog walker, Patricia Hughes who works for Pet Sitters Ireland, suggested that they should put Murph forward.

“We entered Murph but we didn’t think much about it. I can’t believe that so many people voted for him. One of these days, he’s just short of talking to you. You can see how he’s feeling by his face. I can’t believe so many people voted for him,” continued Sarah.

Murph and the other pets will now don their Nose of Tralee sashes and submit a final entry, sharing with the public why they deserve to win.

Voting opens on the 1 August and will end on the 19 August, with the announcement of the winner on the 20 August.

In the meantime, Murph is relishing all the attention and is enjoying his canine celebrity status! “We’ll have to keep him grounded! We don’t want him to become a diva! He’s an absolute joy, he’s an amazing dog!” said Sarah.

Cast your vote for the Nose of Tralee by visiting >> https://www.petsittersireland.com/nose-2024/