Is this Brooklyn rescue the world’s cutest rescue? Owner Mya Kagan thinks so and with your help, the pup can be a winner of the 2025 PEOPLE's World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest.
Kagan said she found Grizzly Bear, whose breed is unknown, at Sean Casey Animal Rescue in Windsor Terrace a year ago. Although she had grown up with a dog, Kagan’s husband Alex Pappas had never owned one.
“Dogs give amazing companionship and love,” Kagan said.
Neighbors often remarked on how adorable Grizzly Bear is, and when Pappas snapped what she called "the perfect photo," Kagan said it convinced her to enter her pet into the contest.
Going into its eighth year, the 2025 PEOPLE World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest opened in July. From the pool of thousands, ten dogs were selected as finalists.
The Kensington couple are committed to leveraging social media to give Grizzly Bear the platform he needs to secure votes. On TikTok, the couple have posted videos of Grizzy Bear stopping to smell flowers on a walk and looking adorable in a green raincoat.
If Grizzly Bear wins this contest, Sean Casey Animal Rescue will receive a $1,000 donation, Kagan said.
The possible donation comes at a time when many New York City animal rescue centers are at capacity. Animal Care Centers of NYC in July stopped taking in new dogs and cats as it had over 1,000 animals in their shelters and would only take in animals who posed public safety risks or were in dire medical conditions, according to CBS News New York.
Sean Casey Animal Rescue is one of few rescue centers in the city that take in animals with complicated medical conditions, according to its website. However, financial challenges may force the center to scale down its critical care program in the near future, the website says.
Kagan said the first year with Grizzly Bear was filled with challenges, as he had to take multiple rounds of medication for intestinal parasites. “I used to joke that he's just a pile of worms in the shape of a dog,” she said.
Despite this, Kagan said Grizzly Bear has brought a lot of joy to the couple’s lives.
“Just such a fun and playful and weird little dog in the best possible ways!” she said.
Voting for the cutest rescue contest is underway though Sept. 15.
