A New England car dealership is under fire after a Reddit user claimed today that they refuse to award his friend a 2014 Ford Fusion he won in a hole-in-one contest while dressed in a dog costume. Sounds like this story just went to the dogs! (Get it?) (Update: The dealer caved. See below.)


Redditor ptg33 over on r/WTF alleges that his although his buddy in the comically oversized dog suit won the hole-in-one contest sponsored by Quirk Auto Dealerships of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the dealership refuses to award the Fusion on a technicality. Here's what he posted:

Background: My buddy hit a hole in one at a charity golf tournament. He was dressed in this costume (head was off) and it was at a "win a car" hole. The dealership is now saying they will not be giving him the car based on a technicality, even though it was 100% legit and the car dealership's rep (seen on the phone in the background) witnessed the whole thing. What I think it is, is they didn't bother insuring the contest. It was for a fully loaded 2014 Ford Fusion which has an msrp of around $35K. They never thought in a million years some asshole dressed up as a puppy would drain the shot, thus taking them for $30K plus. They said, that they required the hole to be 185 yards, but the pin placement was set up for 160ish. My argument is 1) No par 3 on this course can be that long (this was the longest), and 2) Why not figure this out before the tournament starts and you put a representative out there to witness it.


The redditor, ptg3, says he has contacted the local news in the Boston area for what he calls "a full on media blitz." (He did not immediately respond to a message request from Jalopnik.)

The ruff story (get it?!) must have gotten the dealership's attention, because they posted this on their Facebook page:

We are also reaching out to the dealership and the golf course. Hopefully the dealer didn't completely screw the pooch on this one, or they'll be facing the wrath of the entire Internet soon enough. (Okay, I'm done.)

UPDATE: Within mere seconds of this story going up on Jalopnik (I'm totally kidding about this part, it's been on Reddit for hours) the dealership announced on Facebook that they will, in fact, award the Ford Fusion to the fellow in the pooch suit.

Hello Facebook - We will be awarding our Golf Tournament Winner a Brand new Ford Fusion. We want to let you know that we did indeed buy insurance and the official rules of the contest were not exactly followed (for one he's a dog). That said we think that our winner had "one hell of a great shot!" and the outfit was second to none! Congratulations Cujo! Come Forward and claim your prize!


Good for them for doing the right thing.

Update 2: I just spoke to Daniel Mondello, who is Quirk's marketing director. He said that while the dealership did obtain insurance for this event, after the guy in the dog suit hit the hole in one from the 160 yard tee instead of the 185 yard tee, the insurance company refused to pony up. Instead, the dealership will be giving this golf-playing canine the car out of their own pocket. I say that's a pretty stand-up move.