Before the 2016 Best City for Pet Travelers March Madness tournament ended – the Blogging from A-Z Challenge began.

The Boys and I never got a chance to properly thank you for carrying us to victory…

Trust me when I say

Contests are not my strong suit.

But Charleston has my ❤️

I love this city and their outrageous pet friendly attitude.

When Pam Webster of Somethings Wagging This Way Comes told me about the tournament – I wanted to give it a try.

MY STRATEGY? –

See how far we could make it. Take each round one at a time, and pray.

Making it to the “Elite Eight” round exceeded my expectations.

Mayor Techlenburg boosted votes when he met with and re-named Harley & Jaxson the “Charleston Boys”…

Then there was the Charleston Post & Courier story –

This quickly went from public to personal. #inittowinit

Battling last years winner (Port St. Joe, Fl.) for the Final Four spot turned me into a competitive maniac.

With the assistance of Fuel Restaurant and Kitchen 208 passing out our “Vote for Charleston” cards all weekend long…

…we made it to the championship round against Colorado Springs, Colorado. #unbedoodlelieveable

NOW WHAT? –

I grew up in the era of –

If it ain’t broke – don’t fix it!

So that was my plan! #sillyme

I would continue what I had been doing.

HARASS MY –

• friends
• family
• church members
• social media contacts
• strangers

The Pet Mahal grooming salon graciously stepped up to ensure a Charleston championship win.

They offered $1.00 per vote for the first 100 votes. Proceeds going to the Charleston Animal Society.

Needless to say those votes came quickly.

But Colorado would not go away!

The last 12 hours of that championship round wore me out. #yesIcountedthehours

My kitchen became campaign headquarters.

It was almost 7pm before I realized the Boys hadn’t even eaten dinner. #baddoodlemom

Only thirty minutes left – I couldn’t stop. Too many people had worked so hard to help us –

• My husband was literally laying on the floor with his phone connected to the charger texting and talking simultaneously.
• My 10 year old grand niece in NC walked her street that evening after school carrying  the website information  written on a clipboard soliciting votes from her neighbors. #goAVA
• Childhood, college, military and blogging friends from around the globe were rallying their friends to vote for Charleston.

It was 8:59pm. The tournament would end in less than a minute. I stood up for the first time in what seemed an eternity, and went to the potty. #tmi?

At 9:03pm Lee asked me to check the score. I screamed to the top of my lungs.

Go Pet Friendly captures the final moments perfectly…

The final match-up saw Charleston jump out to a significant lead, and with just 12 hours remaining in the round, she appeared to be walking away with the win. But Colorado Springs wasn’t going down without a fight. All day she steamed along until, with just a few hours to go, she’d taken the lead! More than 1,000 people had voted, and with just two minutes remaining, only four votes separated the two cities. And then they were tied – dead even with just seconds remaining! Charleston claimed the win in a buzzer-beater, edging out Colorado Springs by just three votes.

The weeks following the tournament seem so quiet now. Occasionally someone will recognize the Boys when we’re out and about. #thatsalwaysnice

The prizes already started coming in…

I cannot begin to thank the hundreds of people who carried us to the winners circle. I wish everyone could come and visit Charleston SC just once #withorwithoutpets

You’ll quickly understand how it stole my heart…

Don’t forget to enter our Deluxe Waterproof  Car Seat Dog Cover giveaway – it ends at midnight!

Make this a Doodle*tastic week