Lucey tops in Iowa's 'Beautiful Bulldog' event

DES MOINES: Lucey is a slobbering 18-month-old pooch whose human family dreams of making her a therapy dog.

Winning a pageant before her second birthday should boost the Iowa bulldog's hopes of joining owner Dr. Tiffany Torstenson, in the health care industry.

Lucey beat out 49 drooling competitors Monday to take this year's "Beautiful Bulldog" pageant, a tongue-in-cheek event designed to kick off the weeklong Drake Relays, an internationally-renowned track and field meet in Des Moines.

"She's just very calm - and she loves people," Torstenson, of Waukee, Iowa, said. "She loves the attention."

Torstenson said she often takes Lucey to work. Lucey's demeanor around doctors and patients helped convince her human family that she'd make a perfect therapy dog, and she will soon start training to become one.

Lucey was certainly a hit with the crowd at Drake's Knapp Center, besting a pair of boys named Lord Nelson and Zuul to capture top honors.

"She's is very docile, and she doesn't get really excited," Torstenson said. "Every room we go into, she's in that room. She likes to sleep in the bed, and hog the bed. And she loves cheese."

Monday marked the 35th anniversary of the Beautiful Bulldog event, which was started in 1979 in an effort to find a real dog to represent the school's mascot, the Bulldogs.