Limerick's adorable Polo looks to sniff out Nose of Tralee crown

COULD Limerick have the cutest pooch in Ireland? 

In two weeks, we will find out when lovable Boxer, Polo, enters the national arena for the annual Nose of Tralee competition. 

The eight-year-old pupper from Dooradoyle will be joined by her human Emma Clifford on the pawesome journey when they will both find out the result following a public vote on August 27. 

And it's not just for dogs...there are a number of cats, too!

Polo loves people more than dogs, Emma reckons, and is at her happiest when people give her affection. 

"[She will bend] her whole body in a wiggle and lick you to death," she explains. 

Polo never had health issues until six weeks after she turned eight - the average life expectancy of her breed, she says. 

"Polo was feeling very down, not wiggling toward you when you get home and she didn't want to come upstairs for snuggles," she told the Leader this week. 

After going to the vet, a tumour the size of an orange was discovered on Polo's spleen, which required potentially life-threatening surgery of removing her spleen. 

But this led to a life-changing surgery: "Having her in this life or death situation put in to perspective how lucky I am that she is alive, that she is back to her normal wiggly self, I cherish every day with her now, so that's why I entered her for the Nose of Tralee, she is so special to me and everyone she meets that I wanted more people to know her and feel her love before her days come to an end."

Polo is not the pupper in the family. In fact, she's not the only Boxer!

She lives with her two friends, Willow, aged 3, and one-year-old Aero, and she appears to be the mediator of the bunch.

"When the other 2 are arguing she will break up the fight or leave the room to not be apart of it. She's also very motherly without ever having a litter of her own. She took on willow and Aero from eight weeks and raised them as her children."

Why Boxers, though? 

"Growing up I always wanted a Dalmatian or Labrador and I think that was because of movies usually show those breeds so when I turned 15 my mom got me Oreo my late boxer, and I fell in love with how childish and mischievous they are. Some people think they're vicious dogs but I have never met a more loving breed, they just love affection from humans and I couldn't picture myself having a different breed, their personalities are just so strong and hilarious, the things they do make me laugh daily."

And because of her gorgeous personality, Polo has an Instagram account to "to share how funny they are with like minded individuals". 

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Voting has started! Link in bio to vote for Polo You can vote every 24hrs #noseoftralee #noseoftralee2019 #votepolo #limericknose2019 #votelimerick #representinglimerick #thankyou #beautycomp #instadog #dogsofinstagram #boxers #boxerdog #boxerfam #boxersofinstagram

A post shared by Happiness Wags Its Tail (@happiness_wags_its_tail) on Aug 6, 2019 at 6:22am PDT

Speaking about the competition, Emma says: "I am loving the nose of Tralee, getting to know all 31 other noses and meeting animal lovers alike is really wonderful. Obviously, I hope Polo wins but I think all the noses are winners at this point." 

You can vote for Polo on the Petsitters Ireland website or Polo's Facebook page or the link in their Instagram bio. 

You can vote every 24hrs up until the 27th when the winner is announced!