By Barbara A. Preston for The Montgomery News | May 1, 2026
Look for Jersey Paster, a 14-year-old Yorkshire terrier from Belle Mead, on a new scratch-off ticket from the New Jersey Lottery beginning on May 4.
Julia Paster entered her dog Jersey in the friendly New Jersey Lottery contest titled "Make Your Dog a Scratch-Offs Star."Paster is a junior at Villanova, studying communications and public relations. She lives with her parents, Ronald and Lina, in Belle Mead, and has two siblings, Alyssa and Michael. Julia graduated in 2023 from Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville.
Julia, her father, and Jersey gathered with other winners at Columbus Park in Hoboken yesterday, where dog owners gathered to celebrate the winners. Eighteen dogs had been selected as the top winners after thousands of entries were submitted from pet owners across New Jersey.
"My dad and I heard about the contest on the radio," she told The Montgomery News in a telephone interview. "Jersey has the perfect name for it! And, he's very photogenic."
"In September, I got an email that he won, and I freaked out! On the day of his photo shoot for the ticket, they gave us a swag bag with 63 free scratch off tickets, a leash, bowl, and a Frisbee. Then we got two free tickets with his face on them. We played the tickets, but we didn't win. But we will buy more tickets, and bring Jersey with us when we do!"
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Jim Carey, executive directory of the New Jersey Lottery, told News 12 that "this is the first time we asked the public to help us out to develop a scratch off ticket." Thousands of entries were narrowed down to 50 top dogs, then culled down to 18 winners. Each winner will have its own lottery ticket, beginning May 4.
Jersey has the perfect name for the Jersey Dog lottery ticket. He had to win!
The "Jersey Dog" scratch-off tickets, part of the NJ Lottery's 2026 lineup, can be purchased at authorized NJ Lottery retailers in Montgomery Township and surrounding areas. In Skillman, they will be sold at the following locations: Wawa, ShopRite, and Skillman Wine & Liquor. Players can win up to $200,000. It's $5 a try.
