Prissy is daddy’s little girl, but she’s now become an idol not just in his eyes, but the eyes of readers throughout The T&D Region.

She only weighs 7 pounds, but a second chihuahua has demonstrated its heavyweight status, becoming the fifth annual Times and Democrat Pet Idol.

Prissy, as she’s called, is a gentle marble-eyed dog who was nursed back to health by her doting owner, St. Matthews resident Johnnie Jackson.

“I got her when she was 6 weeks old. I bought her through the flea market. A fella had her out there. I think she had worms. She looked like she needed help, so I took her,” said Jackson, who is the cousin of the owner of last year’s winner, Santee resident Amber Crider. Crider’s teacup chihuahua, CC, was just as pampered as Prissy.

Prissy eats everything “daddy” eats,” Jackson said, including ribeye steak and chicken, but her treat of choice is MilkBone dog biscuits.

“Every time she goes in her playpen and comes back and is a good girl, she gets a treat,” said Jackson, noting Prissy also enjoys playing with her squeaky ball.

Prissy’s playpen spans 2 acres and is bordered by a protective chain link fence within which she and Jackson’s four other dogs roam freely and worry-free. If she’s not playing, Prissy stays in the home of the 72-year-old and his wife of 52 years, Betty. He said his wife loves Prissy just as much as he does.

“When we sit down watching television at night, she’s laying down right beside us. If she’s not on top of the chair, she’s down beside us,” Jackson said.

Jackson said Prissy earned her name after the attitude she took on after being nursed back to health, complete with a shined up black- and tan-colored coat.

“After I got her straightened out, she was always so prissy. She’d walk off from me and had a prissy walk. I said, ‘That’s gonna be her name,’” said Jackson, who looked lovingly at his dog as if she could talk and said, “I can be prissy, but I’m scary, too.”

Jackson said his family and friends really put forth a concerted effort to vote and propel Prissy to winning status in this year’s Pet Idol contest. He said he felt great about winning and that there is a special bond between a pet and its owner.

“They can’t tell you what they want, and they can’t fend for themselves. They completely depend on you. If I put myself in their place, I would want somebody to depend on. I would rather know that somebody’s gonna take care of me,” he said.

The Pet Idol and nine other finalists have captured the attention of Times and Democrat readers since the contest’s inception.

“Each year we receive new entries and are thrilled with the continued interest of this contest,” said Georgianne Walton, assistant to the publisher of The T&D.

This year’s Pet Idol contest featured 80 entries of cats, dogs, goats, donkeys and a bird, horse, chicken, pot belly pig and sugar glider.

“Each year at The T&D, we hold a photo session with one of our professional photographers with the Pet Idol winner and the nine finalists. The sessions run for about an hour each, and we take photos of the pets in different poses and use a variety of props. We choose some of the photos to use on the cover of our Pet Idol poster calendar that is inserted in the paper each year for Christmas. The others are used to create memorable personalized prize items for each pet,” Walton said.

“Each finalist also receives a disc with their pet’s photos on it. We would like to thank all of the participants and voters in our fifth annual Pet Idol contest. A special thanks also goes to our title sponsor, Petsen$e, and K-9 Groomers who contributed lots of prizes and treats for our 10 winners,” she said.

Readers were judges for the contest, during which each pet’s picture was published in The T&D’s Sunday Pet Idol special section on Oct. 4.

Readers voted for their favorite pet along with making a voluntary 25-cents-per-vote donation to the Newspapers in Education Program (those who didn’t wish to donate were allowed to cast one free vote per ballot).

Proceeds from the Pet Idol contest benefit the T&D’s NIE program with a portion going to the Maude Schiffley Chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Orangeburg,” said Walton, noting the NIE program promotes and increases basic skills by using the newspaper as a teaching tool in the classroom.

“This important program contributes toward the reduction of an almost 37 percent illiteracy rate in our community. During the 2008-09 school year, we impacted five counties in our delivery areas, which included 70 schools, over 300 teachers and the provision of over 13,000 newspapers each week,” Walton said.

Jackson said while Prissy is camera shy, she is taking her idol status in good stride.

“She’s just taking it day by day. She’s a good baby,” he said.

T&D Staff Writer Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

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