LOYAL, tenacious and passionate for food are the admirable similarities Jordan Roughead finds between his puppy Bill and his Western Bulldogs’ teammates.
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The Bulldogs’ big man brought his little bulldog for a pawesome outing in their hometown.
City of Ballarat’s Bull-Doggie-Do had bulldogs and a few other canine friends come out snarling to celebrate all things Bulldog one week out from the first AFL premiership season game in town.
Roughead and Bill shared centre stage with fellow Bulldogs Fergus Greene, Brad Lynch and mascots Caesar and Woofa.
Bill is a half-brother to Caesar, who hails from Ballarat and is preparing for a big home game on his true home turf.
“I’ve always loved (Bulldogs), even though my next door neighbour had one when I was a kid that used to scare me,” Roughead said.
“I love him. There’s nothing better than getting home from a tough game and knowing he still loves you unconditionally.”
Ballarat-based Port Adelaide fan Shane Garland brought his British Bulldog Judy Garland for Bulldog fun in her Power colours.
“You don’t have to be a Bulldogs’ supporter to come along,” Mr Garland said. “That’s what it’s all about when it comes to football.”
Ballarat is home to a high proportion of Bulldogs with more than 170 bulldogs/bulldog crosses registered with the City of Ballarat.
This includes 62 American bulldogs, 20 American bulldog-cross, 52 Aussie bulldogs, 16 British bulldogs, 22 bulldogs, and five bulldog-cross.
The Bull-Doggie-Do featured competitions for best bulldog, bulldog with the best trick, best footy-themed bulldog and bulldog most like their owner.
Prizes are giveaways included pet vouchers, pet show-bags, a signed Western Bulldogs guernsey, and tickets to Ballarat’s inaugural AFL game.
The Bull-Doggie-Do was created based on an idea from brother and sister Daniel and Emily McLean, when they participated in the City of Ballarat’s Hackathon in 2016.
In the Hackathon, Daniel and Emily discovered, from a combination of City of Ballarat and Western Bulldogs’ open data, that a large proportion of bulldogs were registered within the City of Ballarat.
The duo then came up with the idea to hold a bulldog event in the lead up to the first AFL game in Ballarat.