Meet Milly – the three-legged rescue dog that will be the face of an Ipswich man’s photography company for 2015.
Josh Coulson, of Waterloo Road, launched a competition last month and asked for proud owners to send in photos of their pooches in an effort to find the cutest canine in Suffolk.
The 40-year-old had three other people judging the competition with him, and out of 285 entries, only two were chosen by the whole panel.
The finalists were Milly the Boxer, and Pepper, the six-month-old Great Dane.
Mr Coulson said: “For me personally Milly stood out when she was entered into the competition but I tried not to influence anyone.
“I thought she would stand out to people, she’s got that striking, memorable image.”
He said when Milly was chosen, the other judges did not know that she had three legs because it wasn’t immediately obviously from the photograph that was submitted.
“It was a happy accident that she was picked by everyone,” he added.
Milly was rescued as a puppy two years ago from a dog sanctuary in Spain by Dominic and Karen Stroud, of Red Lodge, for their seven-year-old son, Liam.
When she was adopted, Mr Stroud, 39, said Milly had a complicated fracture to her front leg, which meant she struggled to walk on it.
He said as she got older, Milly’s leg started to grow at a strange angle, so the couple took her to see a vet, who told them that the growth plates in Milly’s leg were smashed and they were advised to amputate.
The little beauty struck a pose for EADT photographer Gregg Brown reminiscent of the classic Venus de Milo statue.
“If you saw Milly you wouldn’t know any different,” Mr Stroud said. “She makes me smile and she brings laughter into my life.”
Milly’s owners have four dogs that were all recused from Spain, where they used to live, and Mr Stroud said Milly kept them all on their toes.
“We just love having her around and our family life wouldn’t be the same without her,” he added.
Yesterday Mr Coulson conducted a photo shoot with Milly and will now use her picture for the branding of his new dog photography business, which was launched in November last year.
For more information visit www.dogtog.co.uk or contact Josh Coulson on 01473 353602.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here