MEDIA ADVISORY April 19, 2002 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 NEARLY 50 COMELY CANINES TO COMPETE MONDAY IN DRAKE'S BEAUTIFUL BULLDOG CONTEST Forty-seven comely canines will compete in the 23rd annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest that will kick off Drake Relays Festival Week at 11 a.m. Monday, April 22, at Nollen Plaza in downtown Des Moines. Entries are usually limited to 30 to 35 bulldogs, but this year all applicants have been allowed to entered this dog-eared version of the Miss America Pageant. "This is the biggest Beautiful Bulldog Contest we've ever had," said Dolph Pulliam, director of community outreach at Drake. "It's going to be huge." Most of the contestants are from central Iowa, but a couple of dogs will be coming from as far away as Omaha and Minneapolis to compete for the chance to serve as Drake's mascot for the 93rd running of the Drake Relays April 25-27. Starting at 11 a.m., the contestants will be judged by a panel of nine celebrity judges including Drake University President David Maxwell and Drake First Lady Madeleine Maxwell. The pageant will follow at noon. The Beautiful Bulldog Contest is sponsored by the Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery of West Des Moines. Three Dog Bakery of Valley Junction will provide special treats for all the contestants while Drake will provide cookies shaped like dog biscuits for all the judges.