5th Annual Lake Merritt Dog Contest Recap

What a year for the Lake Merritt Dog Contest.

The 5th Annual Lake Merritt Dog Contest brought together 145 incredible dogs, thousands of neighbors, friends, fans, and proud dog people, and more than 20,000 votes from the community. From tiny chaos gremlins to majestic lake royalty, every entry helped make this year feel bigger, brighter, and more Oakland than ever.

This year was also a milestone for the contest itself. The Lake Merritt Dog Contest was featured by KQED, sharing the story of how a silly neighborhood idea that started on Vernon Street grew into a joyful community tradition around the lake. What began as a way to make people smile has become something much bigger: a celebration of dogs, neighbors, local weirdness, and the very serious belief that every dog is, in fact, the best dog.

Voting this year was full of drama in the best possible way. Buttercup took the top spot, while Clementine and Ottis were separated by just one single vote! There were close races, surprise standouts, passionate fan bases, swipe stars, grid powerhouses, and more than enough evidence that Lake Merritt takes its dogs extremely seriously.

Most importantly, this year proved again that the contest is not just about winning. It is about scrolling through a giant gallery of neighborhood dogs, falling in love with strangers’ pets, recognizing familiar faces from walks around the lake, and celebrating the weird little community that forms when people decide dogs deserve trophies.

Thank you to everyone who entered, voted, shared, cheered, showed up, and helped make the 5th Annual Lake Merritt Dog Contest such a paws-itively ridiculous success.

Every dog is the best dog.
But this year, some of them got paperwork.

We heard the feedback: there were a lot of cats in this year’s dog contest.

The Lake Merritt Dog Contest has always welcomed cats who act like dogs, but this year we’re making it official. 

We’re proud to introduce our very first Best Cat winner: Cairo. 

Founded in 2022 as the Vernon Street Dog Contest, The Lake Merritt Dog Contest is now celebrating its 5th year of honoring Oakland’s greatest dogs. What started as a neighborhood contest has grown into a much bigger celebration of canine charm, style, personality, and community spirit. Today, dogs from around Lake Merritt and beyond come together for one important reason: to compete for the title of Best Dog.

Of course, at the Lake Merritt Dog Contest, every dog brings something worth celebrating. Some dogs are silly. Some are stylish. Some have the perfect smile, the fluffiest face, or the kind of presence that stops people in their tracks. That’s why the contest features a wide range of awards, recognizing everything from reliability and charisma to fashion sense and pure star power.

Now in its 5th year, The Lake Merritt Dog Contest continues to celebrate all kinds of dogs and all the joy they bring. Big or small, polished or chaotic, local celebrity or underdog, every contestant helps make this event what it is: a one-of-a-kind tribute to dogs, their people, and the community that loves them.