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Babydog becomes a bobblehead

It's Official: Babydog Becomes a Bobblehead

July 19 – Just three days after her starring role at the Republican National Convention in Wisconsin, Babydog has been given the honor of wearing her very own bobblehead.

“Babydog really made an impression in Milwaukee,” said Phil Sklar.

Sklar is a co-founder of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is also located in the city where last week’s GOP meeting at the Fiserv Forum took place.

West Virginia’s First Dog Accompanied Governor. Jim Justice took to the stage for his speech on Tuesday night’s second night and immediately won over the audience with her soft, cheeky appearance.

“I know many of you want to meet my little buddy,” Justice said as the 60-pound dog strolled outside.

The bobblehead hall also produces its own commemorative bobbleheads and is now preparing for the latest series featuring its newest star.

A total of 2,024 Babydog bobbleheads will be produced and are expected to ship in December, Sklar said. The cost is $30. Visit bobbleheadhall.com/ for ordering information and other details.

Babydog started life as a pet with the Justice family and became a household name in West Virginia in 2021.

Then the governor enlisted her in his “Do it for Babydog” COVID vaccination campaign, which gave away prizes and allowed those who won a prize by rolling up their sleeves for the preventive shot to visit the dog.

“Hey, she’s a lot more famous than I am,” Justice laughed to The Dominion Post that year after one of those performances in Morgantown, where the audience recognized the bulldog — in the presence of the governor.

Babydog’s bobblehead isn’t an exclusive reaction to the convention, Sklar said. More on that below.

Sklar and a college friend, Brad Novak, started the museum 10 years ago. It opened to the public in 2019.

Novak worked in the promotional department of a minor league baseball team, and Sklar, who has an MBA and has worked as a senior auditor and financial analyst for several nationally known companies, loved the game.

As a child, Sklar collected baseball cards and later bobblehead images of his favorite stars from America’s Pastime.

Shortly after the museum was founded, they decided to create a bobblehead in memory of Michael Poll, a Special Olympian competitor who raised money to compete in the 2018 Summer Olympics in Seattle.

“That’s where we left,” Sklar said.

At the height of the pandemic, the duo created an Anthony Fauci bobblehead, which remains their best-seller to date.

The proceeds went towards the purchase of protective clothing for healthcare workers who cared for patients with COVID-19 before vaccination.

Nod once for…

Today, their bobblehead roster also includes 15 governors and Sister Jean Delores Schmidt — “Sister Jean” — the 103-year-old Roman Catholic nun and chaplain of the Loyola men’s basketball team that made a serious bid for the NCAA tournament two years ago.

Bernie Sanders and his mittens (made famous by the meme) also became a fun Sklar-Novak creation, along with Mothman, West Virginia’s first cryptid.

Babydog first appeared at the museum during the pandemic.

“We’ve known her since 2021,” he said, referring to the “Do it for Babydog” campaign.

On Tuesday evening, a museum employee called Sklar immediately after Justice and Babydog took the stage at the convention.

“We need to make a Babydog bobblehead,” the person said.

“I know that,” said Sklar.

He also knows that he’s glad he’s living his version of the American dream, because of what he’s doing now.

That may have been a bit shaky, according to Sklar, who earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and went straight to leading roles in his field.

Initial.

“I just didn’t enjoy corporate finance,” he said. “Follow your bliss — and your bobblehead.”

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