The 2009 Pet Idol winner is Sydney the Yorkie

This year’s votes have been tallied and the 2009 Ahwatukee Foothills News Pet Idol is Sydney the 2-pound Yorkie, garnering 1,265 contest votes.

Sadie the cat made Pet Idol history by being the first feline to place in the top five, coming in second overall with 1,169 votes. It was a triumph for cat lovers everywhere.

• PET IDOL 2009: Visit the site, see all the entries!

Gorgeous Giovanni was third with 641 votes, handsome Hank took fourth with 146 nods, and beautiful Bella rounded out this year’s top five at 143 votes.

Winning Pet Idol has become a family affair with Sydney’s father, Jiminy Cricket, taking first place in 2007 and her brother, Charlie Brown, being runner-up in last year’s contest. Owners Dr. George and Lynn Swartz have had Yorkies in their Ahwatukee Foothills home for 20 years now.

“They are so loyal, lovable and affectionate, they will do anything for you,” George said. “It’s amazing what these dogs can do. They are very trainable dogs.”

Lynn added that “Sydney’s a total princess and she knows it,” sporting her signature color of lavender in a matching dress and leash ensemble, topped with a purple bow on her head.

At nearly 8 months old Sydney seems right at home with all the attention the Pet Idol title will bring to her. She has already had a career in commercials as a model and spokesdog for Green Dog Shampoo. Now she is learning to give back to those less fortunate than her by training to become a therapy dog.

“We are glad that we can raise money to get the votes to help those animals less fortunate,” said Swartz, who placed posters of Sydney around Ahwatukee, taking up collections for votes. “We took her everywhere to show her off and gather donations.”

It was a little harder for blue-eyed Sadie the Snowshoe Siamese to go on a publicity tour being a cat and all, but her owners Tom and Carolyn Robertson did get creative in raising money for her votes.

“We did a raffle and exceeded our goal of $1,000,” Tom said. “But the real winners are the rescue organizations and the pets.”

The Robertsons said they had thought about entering Pet Idol after following the contest for two years in the Ahwatukee Foothills News, and this was the year they jumped (or should we say pounced) at the chance.

“Everyone who saw that picture of Sadie kept saying that we had to enter it into the contest, so we did,” Tom said. “Next year, Sadie’s sister, Elaine, is going to enter because it’s been such a great experience.”

The 4-year-old rescue cat lives high on the hog now in her favorite lounge chair while faithfully watching Diamondback’s baseball on the Robertson’s big-screen TV.

Sadie gets her exercise playing with Elaine and chasing flashing red laser lights. She possesses a passion for people food, with meatballs covered in mozzarella cheese being her favorite.

With 106 contestants overall, this year’s Ahwatukee Foothills News Pet Idol contest was a huge success, raising funds to help contest partners The Arizona Canine Connection and Cactus Cats Rescue.

The AFN would like to thank everyone who participated in this year’s contest, as well as “Great Dane” sponsor, Malinda’s Pampered Pets, who donated prizes along with retail sponsors A Gucci Pooch and Doggie Steps.