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Photos: Golden retriever is Superior bell-ringer's happy helper

Craig Oliver has volunteered for the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign for nine years.

Bell ringer rings outside with his dog.
Craig Oliver, of South Range, rings his bell for the Salvation Army as Merlot, his 7-year-old Golden Retriever, watches from outside the Walmart in Superior on Monday morning.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group

SUPERIOR — Craig Oliver, of South Range, could be found Monday morning in the same place he has been every weekday morning since Thanksgiving. Ringing bells for the Salvation Army outside of Walmart in Superior, with his 7-year-old golden retriever, Merlot, by his side.

Oliver has been volunteering for the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign for nine years, two years after he retired. He rings during the 10 a.m. to noon shift every weekday from Thanksgiving through Dec. 15, when he will drive out to Maryland to visit his grandson.

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Oliver’s loyal partner, Merlot, has a bed that comes with them every day.

“She’s my money maker,” Oliver chuckles as a shopper stops to pet Merlot after donating to the kettle.

Man rings bell with his dog.
Craig Oliver, of South Range, looks toward shoppers as he rings his bell for the Salvation Army while Merlot, his 7-year-old Golden Retriever, looks right at the camera outside of Walmart in Superior on Monday morning.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
Man wears fun hat as he rings bell.
Craig Oliver, of South Range, smiles as wears his trademark hat while he rings his bell for the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign outside of Walmart in Superior on Monday morning. “My kid wouldn’t wear it, so I grabbed it,” Oliver said of the hat he got in Colorado over 20 years ago.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
Dog looks at camera.
Merlot, a 7-year-old Golden Retriever, looks up at the camera while she lays outside of Walmart in Superior as Craig Oliver rings his bell for the Salvation Army on Monday morning.
Jed Carlson / Duluth Media Group
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Jed Carlson joined the Superior Telegram in February 2001 as a photographer. He grew up in Willmar, Minnesota. He graduated from Ridgewater Community College in Willmar, then from Minnesota State Moorhead with a major in mass communications with an emphasis in photojournalism.
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