Area Pooch Playoffs champ advances to National Competition, April 5
Press release from Kathy Cafazzo Photography
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – More than 3,500 votes were cast during the Pooch Playoffs last week and crowned Roulez, an affectionate five-year-old Pittie mix from Gainesville, as the Ulti-Mutt Cutie of North Central Florida. Roulez advances to the national championship, which is a one-day, one-round, one-vote, winner-take-all online event on Sunday, April 5.
The Pooch Playoffs is a bracket style competition – except in this final round – unleashed by several dozen members of the Photography Business Institute, or PBI, located around the United States. Each photographer teamed with a local pet charity to raise money, bring attention to that charity’s needs, and take professional photos of the participating canines.
Kathy Cafazzo, owner of Kathy Cafazzo Photography, organized the event to help raise money for Shakespeare Animal Fund, which receives 100% of the session fees from the event. Cafazzo photographed 16 canines during the month of March to compete in the fun event, where each pup’s humans donated to the cause.
In the final round, Roulez will represent North Central Florida and Shakespeare Animal Fund, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to paying the emergency veterinary bills for pets whose owners cannot afford treatment.
The charity of the national champion winning pooch will receive a sizable financial donation courtesy of PBI.
So a vote for Roulez is a vote for our local community!
Online voting will be held on Sunday, April 5, beginning at 1 a.m. ET and ending at 11:59 a.m. ET. The online link will be active only during that time span.
“It’s funny. Our pets are such important members of our families, yet most of us don’t think to have a professional photo taken of them,” Cafazzo said. “The Pooch Playoffs gives everyone a fun way to get a portrait of their pet made, while also supporting an amazing organization in our local community that helps other pet families.”
Roulez was living in Slidell, Louisiana, when she found her forever human while she was enjoying herself on vacation.
Meet Roulez
- Likes: Adventure – aka car rides
- Dislikes: Mom loving on the cats
- Superpower: Zoomies and kisses
- Hobbies: Chasing lizards and herding cats
- Guilty Pleasure: Hooman snacks
- Obsessed with: Catching lizards (generally unsuccessful)
The Pooch Playoffs is a bracket-style competition unleashed in North Central Florida on March 24, with 16 pooches competing for exciting prizes from a number of pet-loving sponsors and the Ulti-MUTT Cutie prize. Sponsors for the 2026 event include Jazz’s Wonderland, Pavlov Media, and Meldon Law, as well as Shrunk 3D Gainesville, PetSmart Archer Road, Town & Country Cleaners, Newberry Animal Hospital, Club Pilates, Fifth Third Bank, Pinspiration of Gainesville, and Bambino Sitters.
The date of the final check presentation to Shakespeare Animal Fund is still being organized, and details will be released as soon as they are finalized.