‘My little sidekick.’ Meet Wichita’s cutest dog, a 15-year-old named Abi
It’s time to introduce our winner: Abi, the 15-year-old Bichon Frise who was selected as the cutest dog in Wichita by Eagle readers.
We hosted our cutest pet competitions over the last few weeks, and Abi took the crown with 2,058 votes out of 4,143 votes cast.
Wichita resident Karla Scudder said she and her husband have always had hunting dogs, but after a while, Scudder wanted an indoor dog.
“A friend of mine had a Bichon and gave me all the good points about a Bichon,” Scudder said. “I would Google them periodically and look and see. I thought these are really cute dogs, and I like how small they are. I wanted an indoor dog. I wanted a lap dog.”
Scudder then started dropping hints to her husband.
“One day, I took a picture on my computer while I was at work and sent it to my husband without a caption or a subject matter, nothing written about it, just a picture of a Bichon,” Scudder said.
Once her husband hadn’t said anything for a couple of days, Scudder sent another photo, and that’s when her he finally asked what was going on. He agreed it was time for the family to get a Bichon.
Scudder went to Google and found a Bichon puppy in Missouri. Not long after, she and her husband drove there and welcomed Abi into their home.
Scudder emphasized that Abi is her baby.
“She now has an Easter dress, she’s got a little winter coat, she has pajamas, I mean, she’s got [clothes for] every season” Scudder said. “She loves wearing this stuff.”
Abi also knows what she likes.
“She loves several people, but if she doesn’t care for someone, she will totally steer clear of them,” Scudder said.
When Abi does love people, she makes it known.
“It is our procedure to walk outside with the people [and] bid them goodbye until they’ve driven off. So she to be in my arms or she causes a fit,” Scudder said.
When asked to describe her personality, Scudder said Abi is a “baby doll.”
“She’s my little sidekick,” Scudder said.
Abi will move on to McClatchy’s national cutest dog competition, along with The Eagle’s also cutest cat winners, Bert and Asa.
This story was originally published November 10, 2025 at 12:22 PM.
