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Contest: And We Have A WINNER!

8/3/2014

12 Comments

 
First Place Winner: "So How Did YOU Name YOUR Dog?" Blog Contest
Greetings, all! It’s time to announce the winner of my “So How Did YOU Name YOUR Dog?” contest from my blog post on June 30, 2014.

We got some great, clever, and creative dog names, and heartbreaking as well as hilarious stories in the comments/ entries section. Thanks so much to all who participated and shared your story.
PictureTara Rist
So without further ado (other than a drum roll, please), I’m delighted to announce that the First Place Winner is Sergeant Jeremy Rist (retired), with his German Shepherd/ Labrador mix Tara Rist. In my opinion, you can’t get much more clever than that. Congratulations, Jeremy! I’m proud to share Jeremy and his family’s story here below.

Meet the Rists!
PictureSgt. Jeremy Rist (ret.)
Sergeant Jeremy Rist (retired) is a wounded American veteran, for which he was awarded the prestigious Purple Heart. He was deployed in 2005 to Ar Ramadi, a city in central Iraq 68 miles west of Baghdad. Jeremy served in the 172nd Mountain Battalion until 2006, when he was wounded by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). While deployed in Iraq, Jeremy was an infantryman. His job consisted of doing foot patrols, mounted patrols in Bradleys and HMMWVs (Humvee), and watching over the town for anti-coalition activities.

In the 172nd Mountain Battalion, Jeremy worked closely with the bomb dogs' handlers, Special Operations, the Air Force, Marines, Navy, Iraqi Security Force, and many other military divisions. Additionally, the 172nd provided security for Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technicians (EOD).

PictureSgt. Jeremy Rist in Ar Ramadi, Iraq
After being Honorably Discharged due to his injury, Jeremy returned home to his family in the United States. Since returning home, Jeremy and his family consider themselves fortunate to have found two special dogs that provide a great service to Jeremy and the rest of his family.

Picture
Left to right: Katie, Jackie, Jeremy, and Ryan Rist
Jeremy and his lovely wife Jackie have two adorable children: nine-year-old Katie, and five-year-old Ryan. They also have two wonderful dogs that they consider to be their children as well, a German Shepherd named Barkley Finn, and the winner of our contest, Tara Rist.
Tara Rist
Barkley Finn
Tara Rist, helping out
Above gallery: Tara, Barkley Finn, and Tara (helping in the yard!)
The Rists like to think of themselves as your average American family that enjoys spending time together doing just about anything fun. You can see from the photo of Katie and Ryan below that they have their own unique way of having fun together. Due to his service in the military, Jeremy thought it would be fitting to name their female German Shepherd/ Lab mix Tara. According to Jeremy, ever since then, Tara has lived up to her name!
Picture
Katie & Ryan Rist doing their Groucho Marx impressions
Jeremy has received a signed copy of my paranormal thriller SOULSNATCHER as his First Place Winner prize. Additionally, Tara Rist will be the name of my canine protagonist in my next novel I write, and I may use some other dog names posted in the contest blog as additional fictional dogs. Jeremy and his wife Jackie say they are huge science fiction fans. Here is Jeremy’s original post/ entry from my Comments section of the contest blog post:
I have a 2 year old GSD/Lab mix named Tara. At first thought many people don't make the connection with her first name and my last name. As a wounded combat veteran coming home and settling down I wanted to get a dog that would help with my transition back to a normal life. After a few years I was able to make this happen for my family and I. After hours of trying to think of a name for our new bundle of fur I had that “aha” moment and said to the wife... “her name needs to be Tara, Tara Rist.” Since that moment she has lived up to her name. She manages to destroy entire rooms in seconds, dig huge holes in our yard, and eat our kids’ shoes like dog treats! Although she is a terror she is still a member of our family and we look forward to having her around for many, many years.
Congratulations again to Jeremy and Tara, and thanks again to everyone who entered the contest and shared their special dog-naming story.

Finally, a very special thanks to Jeremy and all of his fellow volunteers—past and present—in our American Armed Forces for their honorable service, unparalleled courage, and selfless sacrifice. You all have my utmost eternal thanks, admiration, and respect.

Second Place Winner:
Sheri Taylor-Emery and her chocolate-and-caramel-colored Dachshund Snickers

Third Place Winner:
Cindy Lommel and her rescued Yorkie Stinker, nicknamed Tink

Runners-up:
Barbara Barth and her rescued hunting dog Miss April in Paris and Chaneta Juliet Copeland and her dog Maximus Charlie Brown Devareaux

I encourage all my readers to leave a comment and congratulations to Jeremy and Tara in the “Comments” section below, like us on Facebook, Tweet and share this post, and be sure to thank Jeremy for his service in our military.

Thanks again to everyone, and may you all live your lives with tails wagging and wind-in-fur!


12 Comments
Michael Varga link
8/3/2014 01:10:54 pm

What a clever name, with such a nice balance of humor and timeliness! Congratulations Jeremy and your family. Let's hope for a world where one day we don't have think about terror or terrorists, and no one has to be deployed in war zones.

Reply
Kerry Alan Denney link
8/3/2014 01:42:19 pm

Beautiful, Michael! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts, which always provide amazing insight and revealing introspection. Oh, if only we lived in that world where we realized that we're all brothers and sisters! Well, we can only hope that minds will awaken to this amazing perception. Thank you again, kind sir. You are truly a brilliant rationalist, and it's no wonder you were once a respected diplomat. We still have a chance to change minds for the better, and I will always stand at the forefront of those who wish to do so. Thank you for standing beside me, Jeremy, and many others in our wish to make a better world in which we discover our destiny is to bring love and prosperity, and not hatred and devastation. Bless you, my friend!

Reply
Barbara Barth link
8/3/2014 02:21:13 pm

Congratulations Jeremy and family! And thank you Jeremy for your service to our country. Miss April in Paris and I are proud to be honorable mention along side a stellar winner. Peace and love to you and your family and a special woof woof to Tara and your other charming dogs.

Reply
Kerry Alan Denney link
8/3/2014 02:32:06 pm

Bless you, Barbara, and all your furry friends. I can hardly wait to meet them. Everyone, please check out Barbara's awesome "Writer With Dogs" blog here:

http://www.writerwithdogs.com/

Thanks again for everything you share with the world, Barbara, and for being such a humane rescuer of dogs in need of the special love you share with them. :)

Reply
Paul Russell
8/3/2014 03:30:39 pm

YES!! YES, YES, YES!! I agree wholeheartedly! Awesome, super terrific story by Sergeant Rist!

I was so pleased to be a part of this wonderful uplifting contest! I enjoyed reading the stories over and over again! What a wonderful way to bring heritage, love and family to such a personal expression!

I have enjoyed ALL of the stories and I look forward to reading about Tara!

Thank you Kerry and all the contributors! God bless you all and a special thank you to Jeremy Rist for your service! You're the BEST!!

Reply
Kerry Alan Denney link
8/3/2014 03:58:26 pm

Thank you, Paul, for your comment here and your shared comments on the original contest post. Thanks also for sharing Chaneta Juliet Copeland's beautiful and hear-wrenching story, as she ended up winning as a finalist!

Bless all you genuine dog lovers out there. You understand what much of the rest of humanity should. If only we could figure out how to share it with the rest of the world, what amazing things could we do? Travel to the stars and beyond, I imagine...

Reply
Kristine ward link
8/3/2014 11:13:01 pm

Congrats Tara! (And Jeremy and family) what a wonderful story! Enjoy the book. It's a great read. Thank you so much for your service. My husband and I are avid supporters of The Wounded Warrior Project.

Reply
Kerry Alan Denney link
8/3/2014 11:43:16 pm

Thank you, Kristine: for your comment, for participating in the contest with Ginger, and for the plug for my novel! :)

Reply
Chaneta
8/5/2014 12:23:25 pm

Congratulations to everyone who took the courage to share their stories with us. Its so amazing how we all seem so different but we are much like the same more than we know. To each and every one, I hope our beloved pets stay with us as long we need them. This was such an honor to even share my story. I was in shock that I made it into being a finalist. I ran home and hugged maxxy so much and we went for a long bonding moonlight walk. I told him we won!! We did it. It just made me know exactly how special he is. I love him with every fiber. We are all we have. Thank you Mr. Denney this was just great and it gave me some light.

Reply
Kerry Alan Denney link
8/6/2014 03:36:38 am

Thanks for posting, Chaneta, and congratulations again to you and Maximus Charlie Brown Devareaux! Yes, the real dog lovers among us truly understand just how special and incomparable our dogs' unique and unconditional love is. I also love my amazing Holly Jolly with every bit of my heart. Thank you again for sharing your uplifting story!

Reply
Jeremy Rist
8/5/2014 01:51:15 pm

Thank you everyone for the kind words. We are extremely grateful for this honor and to be apart of Mr. Denney's future work! My apologizes for posting late in this blog. I would Like to congratulate all of the other winners of this contest and it was great to get a chance to read your entries and to see all of the other dog lovers out there. I would also like to thank you guys for supporting our military. As a veteran, I can say that every time somebody thanks us for our service it means the world to us. Also, before I forget, Mr. Denney I received your book yesterday and look forward to diving into what I am sure will be a great read. I also plan on spreading the word to encourage others to support you by reading your published work. I just hope that Tara Rist's head does not swell to big after finding out she is a celebrity dog!!!!

Reply
Kerry Alan Denney link
8/6/2014 10:54:36 am

Thank you, Jeremy, for chiming in, and thank you again for your honorable service, unequaled courage, and selfless sacrifice. Without you and others like you, our freedom and safety would be in peril. Please let this post serve as a tribute to you and all our great American veterans. We love our troops!

Congratulations again to you, Tara, Jackie, Katie, Ryan, and Barkley on not only your First Place Win, but also for showing us all what love, courage, dedication, family, determination, and honor are all about.

And look what we've done together: Thanks to you, to all our great contest participants, and to all our friends and families, we have hit an unprecedented ONE-HUNDRED Facebook "likes" with your awesome story! Astounding.

Thanks also for your willingness to share my novel with others. I am always happy and humbled to have others help spread the good word. I'm confident you and Jackie will love it, as so many others have, and look forward to your responses after you've read it.

Thanks to EVERYONE for your participation, your views and responses, for sharing this post with others, and for clicking on that "like" button. This contest has been a blast, and I feel privileged for you all to have shared your unique and heart-warming stories with me, my friends, and readers.

Wind-in-fur, my friends, and bless you all!

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