Hey Cupertino, city dogs need your vote. Actually, as many votes as you can muster over the next 14 days.
Cupertino, apparently, is one of the early frontrunners in the “Bark for Your Park” contest launched May 1 by PetSafe, according to the company, which sent out a press release this week. The company will award a total of $200,000 to five cities from across the county to build a local dog parks.
On Feb. 19, the Cupertino City Council gave final approval a dog park on a triangular section of land at Mary Avenue and the Don Burnett Bridge, along with a budget of $500,000.
Cupertino submitted documentation of the availability of the land, and its support for the project in its nomination. Carol Atwood, the interim director of Parks and Recreation, signed the letter of support, and the city started getting votes soon after the May 1 launch of the contest, which requires voting often on the company's website and its Facebook page.
Petsafe, which sells pet supplies and behavior tools, said that Cupertino is among the top vote-getters in the nomination phase of the contest.
The contest depends on voting support each day of the contest to be consideration as one of 15 finalists to compete for the grand prize of a $100,000 PetSafe dog park.
Supporters can vote for their favorite city every day on both www.petsafe.net and the "Bark for Your Park" tab on the company's Facebook page, located just below its cover picture, May 1 to 31. Posting to comments and on the page's wall does not count, the company said.
Based on the information provided by each city, PetSafe will evaluate the availability of land, civic leader support, population size, and the total number of votes to select the 15 finalist cities.
On June 5, PetSafe will announce the finalist communities and reset the competition to vote daily on www.petsafe.net and PetSafe’s Facebook page.
The finalist city with the most votes will be named the “top dog” and win a $100,000 PetSafe dog park.
Four other finalist cities will receive $25,000 to put toward their local dog park plans. “Bark for Your Park” contest winners will be announced on July 31.
“Dog parks offer a place for exercise and socialization, and that helps address the second most common reason dogs are surrendered to local shelters: behavior,” said Randy Boyd, CEO and president of Radio Systems Corporation, makers of the PetSafe brand.
For more information and to vote for your city, visit ww.petsafe.net.
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