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Take a look back at all the 2015 Cover Dog Contestants!
This year's Cover Dog is one and a half-year old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, Ryman. He loves to frolic with children, lap up ice cream from Jeni's, hang out on the patio at Frothy Monkey, or lounge on his pool float with his sunglasses on. As a therapy dog, he's busy working much of the week, but on weekends Ryman can be found relaxing with his pals Jackson and Bailey from Retrieving Independence, the Brentwood-based service dog organization with which he's affiliated.
'The service dogs are trained all week at the prison and come out on the weekends to be socialized,” says his owner, Sara Mallen. 'It's a fantastic organization that we are proud to have Ryman involved in!”
Party Pics from the Cover Dog Contest
Ryman also enjoys a bevy of other active pursuits: retrieving tennis balls, playing tug, shaking hands on command, and long walks at Radnor Lake. He's a sucker for a good belly rub and is spoken for by his cocker spaniel girlfriend, Gladys. (Sorry, ladies). The Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever is a boundlessly friendly and energetic companion, Mallen says, one that demands the company of his owner and is always up for an adventure.
'This breed has an infinite capacity for intelligence and energy and requires frequent mental and physical challenges. He needs the companionship of his family but also a warm bed to sleep in at night,” she explains.
Meet the Reader's Choice winners in the May issue of Nashville Lifestyles Magazine!