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June 30, 2009
What has 80 legs, 20 adorable faces and the makings of a great Scratcher game? The Virginia’s Lucky Dog II game.
Today the Virginia Lottery announced the 20 winners of the “Virginia’s Lucky Dog” contest. Those 20 canines will be featured on Virginia’s Lucky Dog II tickets when the game debuts September 15.
“She’s very excited,” joked Agnes Vanek of Herndon, whose dog Roxy is one of the winners. “I saw the commercial on TV and discussed it with her.”
Some of the winners include a very protective French mastiff named Harley. Harley’s owner, Luke Allen of Boyce, said, “He looks big and tough, but he’s a big baby.”
Margaret Lockwood of Poquoson and her Norfolk terrier Sissy work together. Margaret is a licensed social worker and Sissy is a certified therapy dog. They often visit nursing homes together where Sissy is a big hit with residents. In her spare time, Sissy is learning to skateboard.
Some of the dogs are naturals in front of the camera. Chase, a mild-mannered lab from Wytheville, has been photographed so many times that he actually poses, according to his owner, Stacey Jones.
Comet, an Australian cattle mix, is a lucky dog because she was rescued by her owner, Jennifer Youngberg of Alexandria. Besides being very photogenic, Comet is an athlete who competes in “fly-ball.”
As every dog owner knows, it is not just the dog who is lucky, but the family as well. Anthony Pocock of Portsmouth needed a friend when he was recovering from shoulder surgery. Pal, an American pit bull terrier, proved to be the perfect friend to help Anthony through the healing process.
Not all of the terrific 20 live in Virginia. Romulus lives in Bunker Hill, West Virginia, with the Johns family. However, Anna Johns points out that Romulus was born in Virginia.
Brody, an English bulldog, was born on Christmas day. “I just can’t imagine waking up without him looking at me,” said his owner, Terry Umbenour of Winchester.
The winners were selected from more than 9,100 photos uploaded to the Virginia Lottery’s “virtual dog park” by dog owners.
The 20 winners are:
* Bella, owned by William DiCicco of Virginia Beach
* Brody, owned by Terry Umbenour of Winchester
* Chase, owned by Stacey Jones of Wytheville
* Comet, owned by Jennifer Youngberg of Alexandria
* Fred, owned by Mary Hileman of Coeburn
* Ginger, owned by Amy Atkinson of Mechanicsville
* Harley, owned by Luke Allen of Boyce
* Hunter, owned by April Payne of Richmond
* Isabelle, owned by Lindsay McLaurin of Chesterfield
* Lacy, owned by Jo Ann Carpinello of Thurmont, MD
* Pal, owned by Anthony Pocock of Portsmouth
* Pilot, owned by Sarah Babcock of Richmond
* Romulus, owned by Charles Johns of Bunker Hill, WV
* Roxy, owned by Agnes Vanek of Herndon
* Sadie, owned by Marty Mitchem of Rocky Mount
* Sam, owned by Andrea Bates of Richmond
* Sissy, owned by Margaret Lockwood of Poquoson
* Tank owned by Arlene Richardson of Ruckersville
* Vegas, owned by Tanya Larese of Ashburn
* Willow, owned by Paul Smiley and Beth Gavin of Herndon
Each of the photos will appear on hundreds of thousands of Virginia Lottery Scratcher tickets, available at Lottery retailers across the Commonwealth beginning September 15. Each Lucky Dog II ticket will cost $2. The top prize will be $10,000. The chances of winning the top prize will be 1 in 454,629. The chances of winning any prize will be 1 in 4.14.
Nearly 95 cents of each dollar spent on the Virginia Lottery by players goes back to the Commonwealth in the form of contributions to education, prizes and retailer commissions. Since 1999, all Virginia Lottery profits have been designated solely to K-12 public school education in the Commonwealth. In that time, the Lottery has turned over more than $4 billion for Virginia’s public schools. The latest annual profits of $455 million currently represent about 6 percent of state funding for public education in Virginia. In 20 years, the Lottery has sold more than $20 billion in tickets, awarded more than $1 billion in retailer commissions and paid more than $10.9 billion in prizes to players.
Please play responsibly.
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