We have always considered Brooklyn Bark Dog Walking and Cat Sitting Professionals an equal opportunity company for we do bird care, bunny rabbit care as well as watch pet rats and reptiles for their owners.
So when we ran our very first Facebook contest it hardly surprised us that we had entries from cats as well as dogs and from all over the world (no, we don't cover Japan but that's where our runner up is from).
We had 64 entries and almost 5,000 votes for the pet who should win a digital portrait by our owner and Pratt grad, Rachel.
What did surprise us is that with 60 dogs and only 4 cats entered, a cat won. What surprised us even more is that the owner who entered this cat is 8 years old. No one in the world could have been happier with this win than Julianna. We caught up with her with a few questions:
Brooklyn Bark: What is your full name and how old are you?
Julianna: Julianna Marie Gargiulo and I am 8.
BBark: What is Travis’ full name and how old is he?
Julianna: Travis Gargiulo and he is will be 3 in July
BBark: Who else is in your family besides you and Travis?
Julianna: Well, there's my mom and my dad and I have a brother named Thomas. He's only 4.
BBark: How did Travis become part of the Gargiulo family? When did that happen?
Julianna: Because I always wanted a cat. I asked my parents if I got a gold medal in swimming can I get one.
I finally did it. And they promised I can get one. So we went to Petco and picked 2 cats. Travis I picked because he was funny and kept coming to play with me. I loved him!
BBark: What made you decide to enter Travis in a contest run by a dog walking company?
Julianna: Because he is very very cute and I love him. Cats rule!
BBark: Why do you think a cat won? We had 64 entries and only 4 were cats. Is Travis a special cat?
Julianna: Definitely. He is special because when I am upset he always comes to comfort me and he guards me when I sleep at night and snuggles with me if I have a bad dream.
BBark: Does Travis like to have his picture taken?
Julianna: Oh yes.. He loves it.. He poses if I put things on him. He is the best cat!
BBark: Are there other animals that you like?
Julianna: I love animals. I love dogs and cats and rabbits and birds and hamsters. I have a lot of friends who love animals, too, and we try to help them.
BBark: How do you do that?
Julianna: About once a month I go with my Brownie troop and we volunteer at Bide-a-Wee. We play with the animals waiting for adoption and tell them they are loved.
BBark: You entered Travis less than a week before the contest closed. What made you think you could win?
My mom saw the picture and said we should enter him in your contest. He makes everyone laugh because he is silly. He is very cute too!
BBark: And here’s the BIG ONE – HOW did you pull this off? A day before the contest ended you were in third position with about 100 votes. How did you end up Monday night with 367 votes a day and a half later?
Julianna: Because as soon as we put him on there we posted and posted! My whole family wouldn't give up. We had family and friends helping with sending Travis's picture all over! My Mom said even England helped! My mom and cousin Lisa were up late at night getting votes. Travis is famous now.
BBark: Wow! You know that you will be awarded Travis's portrait at Brooklyn Bark's annual Bark-becue. Do you plan to bring Travis?
Julianna: I don't think Travis likes to go in the car. Can I bring my brother, Thomas?
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