Vote in the New, Updated MVP
On computers all over the gardening world, intelligent women(*) are exercising their right to vote! Oops... They're all friends on whom I've leant heavily, and they're voting for Histeria the tabby in my Most Valuable Pet competition. And Minimus the grey, and Percy the ginger, and Kaya the black...
On-line voting for your favourite vegetable, movie, or president is a trivial pursuit when compared to the Moosey Most Valuable Pet competition. So who have you been voting for? And have you been happy with the selection of pets on offer? Up until March, 2010, your choice was between two dogs, two rather vague, nameless group entries (sheep and poultry), and a selection of cats, the majority of whom were dearly departed.
Gingerpuss in Still in First Place
Posthumous Pet in First Place
Of course, being dearly-departed cannot make a pet ineligible. The Moosey Most Valuable Pet competition has always had very successful posthumous pet contestants - in fact, the current winner by a country mile, Gingerpuss, is the most posthumous of all.
But I must confess. I lost interest in the Most Valuable Pet competition when I couldn't vote for one of my five new, vibrant, youthful Moosey cats. Three socialised wild kittens Percy, Histeria and Lilli-Puss took up huge chunks of my time in 2008. Then, just when I thought I'd never have another kitten to look after, I found young Minimus in the woodshed. In 2009 lovely Kaya, sleek and black, came to live here. It's sad but true - the youngest are often the cutest, and they weren't on the list of contestants!
A Momentous Day...
Then came a momentous day. On March 14th 2010 the webmaster did some Moosey website work, and suddenly all the newbies were there on the graphs page. The MVP now had twenty-one contestants, and the live cats outnumbered the dearly departed! Yippee!
Five New Cat Contestants
Contestants in the Most Valuable Pet competition get points as well as votes. When they're mentioned on a page, or their image pops up in a calendar or a vet's brochure, their score goes up. Charles the merino ram has 'single-hoovedly' bolstered the ovine points tally by featuring in an oil painting, a billboard, and a glossy magazine.
Vote for Kaya
The Head Gardener also gives out bonus points. Cats who provide great gardening company and dogs who pay attention during philosophical monologues can thus be rewarded. I must admit - the dearly departed are at a disadvantage here...
I Can See Your Votes!
As the keeper of (and peeper at) the official records I can see YOUR VOTES! Over the six years that the MVP has been running, the poultry,(who have provided fun, friendship, and eggs) have only ever received 18 votes. Whereas young Minimus the grey catlet managed to score 19 votes in the first five days. Hmm... Chook versus cat - no contest...
So why not take the plunge, make a stand, be heard, and vote in the updated Most Valuable Pet competition. Watch the graph of your favourite cat (or dog, chook, or sheep) grow, and grow, and grow...
(*)Footnote on the Inclusitivy of MVP Voters
Oops - you don't have to be a woman to vote. It's just that all the men I've asked have been terribly busy doing terribly unfrivolous things, though I suspect Non-Gardening Partner secretly votes each day for Rusty the dog...