Area Pooch Playoffs champ advances to National Competition on April 6
Press release from Kathy Cafazzo Photography
NEWBERRY, Fla. – More than 500 individuals cast their votes during the Pooch Playoffs last week and crowned Pinot, a piebald Miniature Dachshund from Gainesville, as the Ulti-mutt Cutie of North Central Florida. Pinot advances to the national competition, which is a one-day, one-round, one-vote, winner-take-all online event on Sunday, April 6.
In the final round Pinot will represent North Central Florida and Faithful Friends Pet Rescue and Rehoming, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to the rescue and rehoming of dogs and cats in Gainesville and surrounding communities. The charity of the overall winning pooch will receive a sizable financial donation courtesy of the Photography Business Institute, or PBI.
Online voting begins April 6 at 1 a.m. ET and ends at 12:59 a.m. ET on April 7. The online link will be active only during that time span.
INFORMATION AND LINK TO VOTE: https://kathycafazzophotography.com/2025-pooch-playoffs
The Pooch Playoffs is a bracket style competition – except in the final round – unleashed by several dozen members of PBI located around the United States and a couple foreign countries. 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 Faithful Friends Pet Rescue and Rehoming, which receives 100% of the proceeds 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.
“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, by a professional who knows how to photograph pets, while also supporting Faithful Friends.”
Pinot will celebrate her 14th birthday this May. She was found abandoned in a backyard before finding her forever humans through Gainesville Pet Rescue when she was 6 months old.
Meet Pinot
Likes: Cuddling, Treats, Car Rides
Dislikes: Thunderstorms
Superpower: Being able to burrow and burrito herself with any blanket
Hobbies: Suntanning and using her puppy eyes to get her way
Guilty Pleasure: Climbing on top of a warm laundry pile
Obsessed with: Lying on her humans’ laps and demanding petting
Nicknames: Pinot Pot, Pie Not, Potomus, Princess
The Pooch Playoffs is a bracket-style competition that was unleashed on March 24 with 16 pooches competing for exciting prizes from a number of pet-loving sponsors and the ulti-MUTT prize. A few of the current sponsors include Shrunk 3D Gainesville, Pet Paradise, PetSmart Archer Road, Halo Health, Pinspiration of Gainesville, and Modere.
The final check presentation to Faithful Friends will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, alongside the weekly adoption event held at PetSmart on Archer Road.