32 pets across the country are set to battle it out next month to be crowned the "Nose of Tralee".
The competition, organised by Pet Sitters Ireland, is in its eighth year running and had over 1,500 entries this year. After two rounds of competition, one pet from each county has been picked and an overall winner will be crowned in August.
Banjo is a two-year-old Teacup Chihuahua from Blanchardstown and has beat hundreds of other pets to get the chance to represent Dublin in the competition.
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The pooch, who weights just two kilos, is a "natural in front of the camera" and loves getting treats after his photoshoots.
His owner, Lea Castellino, told Dublin Live that she originally wanted to get a bigger dog but now she wouldn't change her tiny pup "for the world".
She said: "We got Banjo in 2020. I wanted a dog for a long time and that was the perfect time to get one. At the time, I didn't have much space so I went for a small dog even though I always wanted a bigger dog. But now I wouldn't change it for anything in the world.
"At home he's quite confident and bosses the cats around. He owns the house, let's put it that way. When we're out and about he thinks he's one of the big dogs until they come over and he gets a little scared. There's not many dogs that I've seen that are as tiny as him."
Despite his small size, Lea said that Banjo has no shortage of energy.
"Don't get me wrong, he's very lazy. He likes his bed, he likes sleeping in but when we do get him out of the house he's quite energetic and he loves running around."
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Lea has followed the competition for a couple of years and decided this year that it made perfect sense to enter Banjo, who "loves being in front of the camera".
She said: "I can't even remember how I came across this in the first place, I must have seen the advertisements somewhere but I've followed it for a couple of years now and decided to enter Banjo in it this year.
"I was delighted that we made it into the finals. There was over 1,500 entries this year and to get to the last 32 is huge for us. We need all the votes we can get now.
"So this is the third round now, the final round. The first round was public voting as well so I literally just sent reminders to all my friends and everyone I know every single day.
"The second round was a jury going through the pictures. Now we're in the final, there's 32 left so one for each county.
"The jury went by how many votes you got in the first round, the quality and uniqueness of the picture and you had to enter a text."
Lea said she would love Banjo to win the competition because she feels Chihuahuas wrongfully have a bad reputation in Ireland and across the world.
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"Before I got him I always thought of Chihuahuas as yappy little ankle biters," she said. "But now I see the difference and it's not true at all.
"Banjo is such a cuddley, loving animal. He follows me around the house. He's mini, but he's just a normal dog. It's really not true what people say about Chihuahuas and I'd love to show that to Ireland."
Public voting for the Nose of Tralee is open from August 3 until August 22 and can be accessed here.
If you would like to see more of Dublin's Nose Bango, you can follow him on Instagram or Facebook.
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