Penny

Penny is the name of the canine mascot for the Gold Seal Dog Food company, depicted on an animated sign at which was visible from the 1st Avenue North Viaduct until it was restored and moved to Regions Field in 2013.

Gold Seal manufactured two grades of dog food; a premium product with their Gold Seal label and a second grade, named "Penny Dog Food". At some point the company erected a two-sided sheet-metal sign depicting the cartoon dog with an animated "wagging" tail and tongue lapping at a full food dish reading "PENNY".

When Birmingham Hide and Tallow purchased the property in the 1980s and, in 2005, restored the sign and added their logo to the bottom panel. The restoration won a "Preservation Award" from the Birmingham Historical Society. The company moved its offices in 2010, but left the sign up. In 2013. Its corporate counsel, Micah Salsman, suggested to CEO T. Owen Vickers that they refurbish the sign and donate it to Regions Field. They hired Wide Open Signs to refinish the painted illustration and Mark Whiten of Whiten Signs n' Lighting to restore the mechanism.

References

• Whitmire, Kyle (February 15, 2013) "Penny dog food sign will wag again at Regions Field." The Birmingham News