The 2016 winner of The Vicksburg Post’s Pet Idol has taken his title with all of the elegance, poise, tail wagging and jumping expected of a dog champion.

Brooks, a pug rescue, took the most votes in the competition, beating out dog Gracie and rooster Boots for the top spot.

“Everyone loves Brooks,” Glenn McKay, who along with wife Jackie, have owned Brooks for six years and entered him in the competition. “We both appreciate everyone who voted for Brooks. We’ve been in Vicksburg our whole lives, so the local support means a lot.”

Competition for the winning spot was fierce.

Three rounds of competition cut the 16 original contestants down to the three finalists, meaning each 25-cent vote counted. McKay said he had his pride on the line as well.

“My buddies were giving me a hard time about possibly losing to a chicken, so I’m glad we pulled through,” he said, laughing.

McKay said Brooks had already played with four of the toys from his prize basket, which included handfuls of dog toys, treats and rawhide bones, on the drive home from picking it up.

“He loves all people, but not all dogs,” McKay said, noting that the extra treats will be a welcome addition to his toy basket at home.

“He follows me everywhere, and loves to play and be outdoors. He also loves all food. Nothing in particular. Just food.”

McKay said he enjoyed Pet Idol, but he and his wife, who originally pushed him to enter Brooks, have no plans to enter him in any more pet contests in the near future.

“We’re just happy with his current title,” he said.

Though Brooks may not be looking to defend his Pet Idol title, Stacy Hartley, contest organizer and district manager of circulation for The Post, said the competition would continue in order to help fund Newspapers in Education, The Post program that provides 4,000 Warren County elementary through high school students with newspapers each week of the school year from September to May.

“People came in with their change and bills and voted for their favorite competitor,” Hartley said. “We can’t thank those who entered or voted enough. We had a great response, and will do it again for Pet Idol 2017.”