National Dream Dog Park Winner For 2013 Is

 PRESCOTT, ARIZONA, DOG OWNER WINS NATIONAL DREAM DOG PARK CONTEST

Beneful® Brand Dog Food Will Award $500,000 Renovation to Area Dog Park

 It’s a tail-wagging good day for the dog-loving community of Prescott, Ariz.  Local resident Linda Nichols and her four-legged best buddy Callie have been named Grand Prize Winner of the 2013 Beneful® Dream Dog Park Contest.  In addition to winning $10,000 cash and a one-year supply of Beneful brand dry dog food, Nichols’ ideas in her winning entry http://puri.na/LindaCal will help serve as inspiration for a $500,000 renovation of a dog park in the Prescott area.

More than one thousand dog owners from across the country entered the 2013 Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest that posed the question:  If you had $500,000 to create a Dream Dog Park where you and your best buddy can play together, what would you do?”  Nichols dreamt big with a commemorative fire fighter-themed entry that featured a variety of creative elements including:  a red fire truck playground area for dogs to get exercise; a bright hydrant water feature for dogs to cool off after playing in the hot Arizona sun; and a bronze Dalmatian statue to greet two-and four-legged visitors at the front gate.  Designer and dog lover Nate Berkus will help design the fourth $500,000 renovation that will be unveiled in the summer of 2014.

“Beneful is dedicated to celebrating the special relationships people share with their four-legged best buddies and one way we do this is through our annual Dream Dog Park Contest,” said Brent Gleckler, Beneful brand director. “We are always inspired by the passion and creativity of the dog owners who enter the contest and it is a privilege to leave a lasting gift in our contest winners’ local communities through our half-million-dollar Dream Dog Park renovations.”

The Beneful brand has unveiled three $500,000 Dream Dog Park renovations to date: the first was in Johns Creek, Ga.; the second in Alabaster, Ala.; and the third in Lancaster, Pa.  Construction on the fourth Dream Dog Park will begin in spring 2014.

The Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest

To enter the contest, dog owners were asked to submit a photo showing how life is better when they are together with their dog and a short essay that described their ideas for a Beneful Dream Dog Park. Entries were reviewed by a judging panel and fourteen finalists were selected based on the contest judging criteria in the official rules. The finalists were then asked to submit a two minute or less video that showed their daily adventure with their dog in their current dog park and explained their ideas to make it even better if they had the chance to inspire a Dream Dog Park renovation.

 The video entries were posted on BenefulDreamDogPark.com for public viewing and voting and judged by the Beneful Dream Team that includes: designer and dog lover Nate Berkus; licensed contractor and television host Jason Cameron; pet expert Arden Moore; and a Beneful brand representative.  Berkus will use his expertise to help design the fourth $500,000 Beneful Dream Dog Park renovation that Cameron will manage and Moore will oversee from the dog’s point of view. The Beneful Dream Team judging counted for 70 percent of the final score and public voting counted for the remaining 30 percent to determine the Grand Prize Winner.

All entries in both rounds of the contest were judged based on the following criteria: creativity and originality of the ideas for their “Dream Dog Park” (40%); how well their ideas made play with their best buddy more fun in the dog park (40%); and the feasibility of bringing the ideas to life (20%).

Beneful will award the $500,000 renovation as an in-kind donation to an existing public or non-profit dog park in the Prescott area.  The park will be selected by the dog food brand and the newly renovated Dream Dog Park is expected to be unveiled in summer 2014. 

For more information on the Dream Dog Park Contest and to view Nichols’ winning entry, visit BenefulDreamDogPark.com.  To stay up to date on Beneful news, visit Facebook.com/Beneful or follow @Beneful on Twitter, using the hashtag #DreamDogPark. 

About Beneful Brand Dog Food

Manufactured by Nestlé Purina PetCare Company, Beneful brand dog food offers a full line of wet and dry formulas that offer a perfect balance of taste and nutrition. Introduced in 2001, Beneful is one of the most successful dog food brands in the Company's history. The North American headquarters for the Nestlé Purina PetCare Company is located at Checkerboard Square in St. Louis, Missouri, where Ralston Purina Company was founded more than a century ago. Nestlé Purina PetCare promotes responsible pet care, humane education, community involvement and the positive bond between people and their pets. One of the leading global players in the pet food industry, Nestlé Purina PetCare is part of the Swiss-based Nestlé S.A.- the world's largest food company.