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It Was a Big Win For the
Quadrupeds in Ruskin
By Mitch Traphagen
Courtesy of Observer News
Did you notice something
odd about your cat on Friday night? Did
you, perhaps, see the cat
give your dog a high five? Well if you live
in Ruskin, Friday night
was a big win for the quadrupeds among us.
It's not often a
candidate they support wins an election,
after all.
Dr. Hall Ott, owner of the
Ruskin Animal Hospital, was
officially named Honorary Mayor of Ruskin
during the Chamber of
Commerce annual banquet on January 16,
2004. The honorary mayor is
'elected' based on the amount of donations
generated for a chosen
cause. Ott chose C.A.R.E., the nonprofit,
no-kill animal shelter
that he founded in Ruskin. C.A.R.E. is the
only animal shelter in
South Hillsborough County.
In all Ott raised more
than $7,000 during his
campaign. That amount will be split evenly
between the chamber and
C.AR.E.
Ott's competitor for the
mayor's race was Robert
Newhart, general manager of the Mariner's
Club Bahia Beach Resort
and Marina. Newhart raised nearly $1,000
for the Mary Martha House
in Ruskin. That amount will also be evenly
divided.
Given the theme of the
banquet, it was fitting that Ott
would take home the Mayor's top hot.
Chamber executive director Suzy
Lacey promised that the event was going to
be wild. She neglected to
mention beforehand, however, that the word
'wild' could also be used
to describe some of the animals in
attendance.
It was truly an evening
for the quadrupeds and
more than a few of the attendees went home
to brush cat fur off of
their clothes. No, none of the cats from
C.A.R.E. were there to see
their candidate win - the cat at the
banquet was a bit bigger than
that. The cat at the banquet was a full
grown tiger.
Yes, there was a tiger there.
There were also snakes
and at least one alligator and who knows
what else. Fortunately,
since no one has been reported missing, it
would seem that none of
the guests in attendance had unexpectedly
had their dinner plans
changed into becoming dinner for a tiger.
But then again, no one was
really worried - they had
just elected a veterinarian after all. If
anyone in Ruskin could
convince a tiger to give up on eating
someone, it would be the new
honorary mayor, Dr. Ott.
The banquet was held at the
mariner's Club Resort. The
tropical setting, combined with a few wild
animals, definitely made
for a memorable evening. According to
Lacey, the annual dinner had
set a new attendance record. She also
mentioned that several of the
guests had commented that "this was
the most fun that we've ever had
at an awards event."
The theme for the chamber this
year is 'Let's Go Wild
in 2004,'" said Lacey, "And to
start it off right, it all began with
this exciting and out of the ordinary
event.
Ott will spend his year as
honorary mayor representing
the community at various events including
the Tomato Festival and
the Seafood and Arts Festival.
Despite a campaign
platform that included more
fire hydrants for the dogs and more trees
for the cats to climb, Ott
knows well that as honorary mayor, his
powers to make that happen
are, well, somewhat limited. He also knows
well that most cats and
dogs have very short attention spans. For
most of the quadruped
consistency, a scratch between the ears and
one of the treats he
keeps in his office will probably be enough
to smooth out any
ruffled fur over a few campaign promises.
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