A 14-month-old Great Dane named Katahdin was voted Somerville Dog of the Year, Town Clerk Kelly Payson-Roopchand announced at the Somerville Board of Selectmen’s June 2 meeting.
According to Payson-Roopchand, one challenge she has faced as town clerk is increasing the amount of dog licenses in town, and came up with the idea of collecting donated pictures of Somerville’s dogs to make the process more visible and fun.
After the photos were collected, Somerville residents were able to vote by secret ballot and ultimately selected Katahdin as the winning pooch, Payson-Roopchand said.
The award entitles Katahdin to a free license in 2016, she said.
Katahdin’s owner, Kelly Nichols, said her dog weighs 96 pounds but will grow to around 180 to 200 pounds.
The most popular breed of dog in town, by number of licenses, is Black Lab, Payson-Roopchand said.
In other business, the selectmen voted to extend the town’s snow plowing contract with Nelson Family Farm, of Palermo, for an additional year.
First Selectman Susan Greer announced the town office’s hours are changing as of July 1 to: Monday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Wednesday, noon to 6 p.m.; and Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
