PetSafe announced 15 cities across the US that will move on to compete as finalists in the "Bark for Your Park" contest with a chance to win US$100,000 or US$25,000 to build a local dog park.
For the third year in a row, pet lovers across the US demonstrated their desire for off-leash dog parks in their communities, nominating 1,130 cities to compete to win a share of US$200,000 in funding for local dog parks through the PetSafe contest.
"We are overwhelmed again by the enthusiasm for 'Bark for Your Park,' and we'd like to see every community in America enjoy a dog park," said Randy Boyd, president and CEO of Radio Systems Corporation, maker of the PetSafe brand. "That's why we're proud and excited to help five of our 15 finalist cities this year build their community dog parks. But, no matter the outcome of the contest, we hope all 1,130 cities will continue to 'bark' for their parks and rally the support needed to make their dog park dreams a reality."
The finalist communities will continue "barking" for their park by voting daily on www.petsafe.net and PetSafe's Facebook page now through July 26. Finalist cities are required to submit a 30-second video designed to show the world why they deserve to win a dog park, and each city whose video receives 1,000 views on YouTube will earn an additional 1,000 votes.
The finalist city with the most votes will be named the winner of a US$100,000 PetSafe dog park. The city with the highest percentage of votes to its population will receive the "Bark from Your Heart" award and earn US$25,000 toward building a local dog park. The top vote-earners in each size category of small, medium and large cities will also each receive US$25,000 toward building a PetSafe dog park. "Bark for Your Park" contest winners will be announced on July 31.