London Shares Her Crown: Top Dog Donates Winnings To Animal Rescue League

BREWSTER – English Cream Golden Retriever London took Brewster’s top dog crown this year, earning an impressive 125 votes. But, instead of taking her winnings to the bank, she donated a portion of the prize basket to the Animal Rescue League’s Brewster location — proving to voters that they made the right choice.

 London is a four-and-a-half-year old “COVID pup,” according to her mom, Colette Demeusy. She was named for her “English” heritage, but does have a slew of nicknames that she’ll respond to as well, including lolly bear and lollipop.

 “We got her as a puppy, adopted her at eight weeks old,” she said. “She was really easy to train and just such a good girl and a sweetheart.” 

 Demeusy and her family, including London’s human sister and two cat siblings, live in Robinwood, a neighborhood that is no stranger to a top dog winner. In fact, the last four winners have come from the neighborhood including last year’s winner, Mango. 

 The neighborhood is incredibly dog-friendly and one of the main reasons Demeusy and her family decided to get a dog themselves. After living in the neighborhood for over a decade, they wanted to join the dog-loving community. 

 “I noticed many of my neighbors had dogs of all different types,” she said. “[They] would be out in the neighborhood walking them together or throwing a ball into the pond at the end of the road. We were so excited when we adopted London that we could join the group.” 

Every year, the dog families nominate one of the neighborhood dogs, pooling their support for a beloved pup. Demeusy said it just so happened that this year, it was London’s turn. 

With encouragement from her neighbors, Demeusy started London’s campaign, sharing little bookmarks around the neighborhood with voting details. 

“We are so grateful that Colette Williams (Brewster’s town clerk) does this every year,” she said. 

Demeusy said London is well-known in the neighborhood for what she calls “anchoring,” a common Golden Retriever behavior. It’s when a dog suddenly stops, plops down on the pavement and refuses to continue walking. She said many of her neighbors love the behavior, and will run outside to help her get London moving again.

London’s favorite activities are running off-leash on the beach in the off-season, playing with her best friend, a black lab named Obi, and rolling in any dead fish or crabs she can spot. She also loves jumping on the seaweed that rolls in at high tide and any time she gets to swim. 

She is no stranger to attention, and probably loves people more than other dogs, if that’s possible, says Demeusy. 

“I want to thank my neighbors for all their encouragement and support,” she said. “[I am] loving being a part of the dog-friendly neighborhood that we live in, it’s been really wonderful and we feel really lucky.” 

Each year the top dog winner is awarded a basket donated by Agway, the official #1 dog tag and a certificate recognizing them as this year’s top dog. 

London suffers from an array of different food allergies, so Demeusy said the family decided to donate a portion of the prize basket. 

“We actually gifted a portion of the basket to the Animal Rescue League and they were super grateful we did that,” she said. “It felt really good to pay it forward.”