Charleston, S.C. - A total of 53 English Bulldogs participated in the Inaugural Beautiful Bulldog Contest and local resident Dixie Blue, owned by Eric Wooten and Kathleen Cartland, walked away with the top prize.

First-runner up was Hollywood Hayden, owned by Betsy Hayden of Summerville.

The contest, the first of its kind in the Lowcountry, was sponsored by The Citadel Football Association and was held prior to the Bulldogs' spring football game.  Proceeds from the event benefit the association's scholarship with The Citadel Brigadier Foundation and to support the college's official mascots, General and Boo.

Dixie Blue, ironically, is Boo's sister.

"We had a terrific turnout and a wonderful day," said John Carlisle, Citadel Class of 1964, who serves as the Association's president.  "We are appreciative of everyone participating and to the many who watched.  We also appreciate the many volunteers we had along with our judges."

Frankie, owned by Rob and Martha Robertson of Charleston, captured the Best Costume portion of the contest in addition to winning the Most Like Its Owner category.  Quatro, owned by Lisa Sanders of Hollywood, was the Best Tailwager and Tilly, owned by Ray and Linda Graves of Pandora, Ohio, was the winner of the Furthest from the Doghouse category.

Mr. Personality was captured by Tank, owned by Charles Usry of Greenville, while Dottie, owned by Liz Volz and Jeremiah Bacon of Charleston, and Petunia Blossom, owned by Frank and Lisa Moore of Mt. Pleasant, was named Miss Congeniality.

The judges for the contest were Debi Chard of WCSC-TV, John Nugent of WCIV-TV, Dawn Wiseman-Adams, Barb Babcock and Charlie Adams.  Richard Todd of WTMA-1250 AM served as the master of ceremonies.