Local college mascot goes from junkyard mean to cute and cuddly

Bunker Hill Community College recently unleashed a new look for its Bulldogs sports teams that replaces the traditional look of a slavering beast that would just as soon rip your legs off, if only it could escape its spiked collar, with a rompy, joyful critter who has yet to realize she is no longer a puppy.

In a statement, the school says it wanted to get away from the traditional bulldog look both because it looks like the bulldog at every other school that uses it for a mascot and because Bunker Hill isn't really about the snarly-bulldog life:

After research and discussion with department stakeholders, [Athletics Director Loreto] Jackson wanted to remove the common ideas of bulldogs - that they are mean-spirited, arrogant, combative or lazy. Instead, the BHCC Bulldog should portray respect, tenacity, a competitive spirit and loyalty.

Also, the bulldog had to represent all students, regardless of gender, so the spiked collar had to go, because apparently only boy bulldogs wear them.

And so, "after more than a year of research, reflection and evaluation," which included hiring an outside design firm, the college revealed its new-look bulldog last month:

A running bulldog, energetic and with its eyes focused forward, seeking success in a manner congruent with the program's mission and consistent with the uniqueness of BHCC.

Via Charlestown Patriot-Bridge.