Good morning, Edenton. Louie gets his ribbon tomorrow, and Chuck Simpson’s Finnegan would dearly love to know where they measured him for it. Finnegan leads this week’s Top Dog race with 119 votes. Ilona Smith’s Isabella, better known as Izzy, holds second with 83. That’s a 36-vote cushion for Finnegan, who can probably finish breakfast in peace.

Breakfast, certainly. A nap, I’d reconsider. Izzy has 83 votes of her own, and while everybody’s looking at the distance between first and second, Sue’s Frida Bonita has come into view with 68. If I’m calling this one from Izzy’s corner, I’m keeping one eye on Finnegan and the other on Frida. A third eye would be handy for finding the biscuit.

And down on Broad Street, I’d advise Gizmo to eat a little faster. The pride of Vaughan’s Jewelry holds fourth with 63. Cricket has 61. Nubby has 58. Ten votes separate Frida in third from Nubby in sixth, and Cricket has precisely three votes’ worth of breathing room.

Let’s put that in Edenton terms. Say four friends are having coffee. If all four vote for Nubby while the rest of the field stands still, Nubby goes from sixth to fifth and pulls within one of Gizmo. That’s how close it is. By the time somebody says, “Whose turn is it to pick up the check?” the standings could need a rewrite.

A little farther back, Mickey has 18, Baxter 16 and Maggie 14. Koa holds tenth with nine. Gracie and Summer have eight apiece, and Little Lady Bumblebee has seven. One vote for Gracie or Summer earns a share of tenth. One vote for Little Lady Bumblebee gives us a three-way tie at eight. A name like that takes longer to announce than it does to cast the vote.

Now give me a moment with the lower half of this ballot. Sir Jasper, Duke of Granville, has three votes. So do Hayden and Poppy, who have managed the same result without the expense of maintaining a duchy. Waylon & Willie have two between them. Potato has one. Somewhere out there is a voter who looked over this entire field, considered the merits of all 50 entries and said, with conviction, “Potato.” I respect that voter.

Huckleberry and Lola the Wonder Dog also have one apiece. And here’s a figure worth hearing. Twenty-one entries are still waiting for their first vote. Among them are Enzo Adachi, Layla Maye, Millie and the three-dog ticket of Milo, Mater & Moonpie. So when you open the ballot today, scroll a little farther down. You might spot a face you know from a walk around the block. You could be the one who gets that dog on the board.

Which brings us to Louie. Tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 12, last week’s Top Dog gets his award ceremony, his first-place ribbon and custom dog biscuits from Bayside Bakery and Boards. The ribbon is a fine thing. It’ll look handsome in the photographs. But if the photographer wants Louie looking straight into the lens, I’d suggest holding one of those biscuits just above the camera.

From the Edenton Social Light sports desk, Finnegan leads with 119, Izzy is giving chase, and Nubby is three votes from a share of fifth. Tomorrow we salute Louie. Today, somebody has a chance to cast the very first vote for Moonpie and company.