Torch File PhotoBulldog Spirit: One of the twenty-four fiber­glass “dawgs” up for auc­tion on Sept. 25.

With the year long pro­gram com­ing to a close, 24 bull­dogs out of the 36, will be auc­tioned off on eBay for any busi­ness, orga­ni­za­tion, or indi­vid­ual to buy.

The other 12 were already bought by businesses.

It’s sad to see these dogs go, but it’s for a good cause. All of the money will be going to three orga­ni­za­tions: Artworks of Big Rapids, the Youth Attention Center of Mecosta County (YAC), and Leadership Mecosta.

Each busi­ness with a dog in front of it has been spon­sor­ing this bull­dog for the entire year. As seen, each “dawg” was painted in a unique way.

Geri Johnson, Governmental Relations Assistant, said each busi­ness helped cre­ate the bull­dog they spon­sored by giv­ing ideas to the artists. She said 28 artists total were used to help cre­ate each dog and give it its own unique personality.

Now that these dogs have had their fame through­out the year, it’s time for them to give some­thing back. Johnson said all 24 “dawgs” will be together for the last time dur­ing Homecoming. All will be on dis­play for every­one to look at before being auc­tioned off.

The auc­tion will take place from Sept. 25 to Oct. 8. Six dogs will be up for bid each day.

Businesses have already taken an inter­est in hav­ing one of these dogs as a dec­o­ra­tion and even told Johnson they will be bid­ding when the time comes.

Johnson does encour­age Ferris stu­dent groups and other Ferris orga­ni­za­tions to bid on a dog as these were a big part of the com­mu­nity and shows peo­ple that these stu­dents and staff really are Ferris bulldogs.

“Everyday peo­ple come to Big Rapids just to see these dogs and take pic­tures with them,” Johnson said, “People even buy bull­dogs for their kids to paint.”

Response to the dawgs has been favor­able and the adver­tise­ments have been a help for those inter­ested in see­ing them and pos­si­bly bid­ding on them.

Johnson said, “It’s not about mak­ing money, but enhanc­ing the com­mu­nity we live in.”

For more infor­ma­tion on the auc­tion con­tact Johnson at x3600. n

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