2012 Petties Award Winners Announced by DogTime Media

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- DogTime Media, the largest vertical media community focused exclusively on pet owners, announced the winners of the 2012 DogTime Pet Blog Awards, also known as "The Petties," in a grand ceremony broadcast on DogTime.com on Friday, October 12^th at 3:00pm PST.

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The DogTime Pet Blog Awards have been considered by many to be "the Oscars of the pet blogging world." Since their inception in 2010 the Petties have donated $52,000 to non-profit shelters and rescues on behalf of bloggers.

This year the 2012 Petties Awards was the largest yet, recognizing 40 nominees and awarding 10 winners, chosen by their fellow bloggers and pet lovers from across the DogTime Media community. New to the Petties Awards this year was the Petties Nominations Award, a $10,000 donation made to the non-profit animal shelter that received the most votes during the Petties nomination period. Also new this year was the Unsung Hero Award that honors a volunteer who has shown unique dedication to the animal welfare community, and includes a $10,000 donation to be given to the animal shelter of the recipient's choice.

"My heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees and winners of this year's Petties Awards," said DogTime Media President, Simon Tonner. "I was excited to see such a diverse group of nominees this year, stemming from the over 20,000 nominations and a record level of activity across a variety of social media platforms."

2012 DogTime Pet Blog Award Winners:

Each winning blogger will receive a $1,000 donation to the non-profit animal shelter or rescue of their choice, along with a custom Petties trophy, a "Petties Winner" badge for their blog site, a valuable package of editorial coverage across the DogTime Media community and a host of social media traffic driving opportunities.

Best Designed Blog
Deb Barnes for Zee and Zoey
Chosen rescue organization: Abandoned Pet Rescue

Best Use of Social Media Blog
Paris Permenter for DogTipper.com 
Chosen rescue organization: Animal House Rescue

Funniest Pet Blog
Abby Rosenberg for Daisy the Curly Cat 
Chosen rescue organization: Cats Exclusive

Best Cause Related Blog
Alana Miller for Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary 
Chosen rescue organization: Blind Cat Rescue & Sanctuary

Best Blog Post
Joanne McGonagle for Tiniest Tiger's Conservation Cub Club, "Farewell Eastern Tiger" 
Chosen rescue organizations: Kitten Associates

Best Cat Blog
Ingrid King for The Conscious Cat 
Chosen rescue organization: Kitten Associates

Best Dog Blog
Maggie Marton for Oh My Dog!
Chosen rescue organizations: Monroe County Humane Association

Best Overall Pet Blog
Lorie Huston for Pet Health Care Gazette 
Chosen rescue organizations: Nebraska Humane Society

Unsung Hero Award
The winner of the Unsung Hero award is Lou Hays, who volunteers at the Humane Society of Cherokee County in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Lou will receive a Petties trophy and a $10,000 donation from DogTime Media to the Humane Society of Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Lou was absolutely thrilled to have won this award of out of thousands of volunteer nominations DogTime received.

"I was returning from a dog transport to Chicago when I got the news on Friday, and I nearly ran my transport van off the road," wrote Mr. Hays. "We haven't yet decided what do with the award money, but rest assured it will go to make life better for the disadvantaged animals of Cherokee County, Oklahoma."

Petties Nominations Award
During the nominations period this year members of the DogTime Media blogger community selected the Humane Society of Chittenden County (HSCC) in Northern Vermont to receive a $10,000 donation.

"Ten thousand dollars will aid our humane education programs, dog training classes, cruelty investigation efforts, and feral cat trap-neuter-return initiative," said Megan Stearns, Director of Development and Outreach at HSCC. "And it will ensure that hundreds more homeless animals likewise find their fame and fortune in new homes this year. Now that's something to brag about! Thank you, DogTime Media."

Petties winners will provide acceptance speeches later in the month, which will appear on petties.dogtime.com.

About DogTime Media:
DogTime Media is the largest vertical media community focused exclusively on pet owners and the 50 billion dollar annual pet market. DogTime Media reaches 50.2 million monthly users via its community of 525 leading pet-focused websites, 565 pet bloggers and more than 3,000 rescue groups, anchored by its own DogTime.com and CatTime.com.

DogTime Media actively supports the efforts of rescue groups and shelters nationwide to significantly reduce the number of homeless and neglected pets in the country by providing authoritative advice to both novice and experienced pet guardians. DogTime Media has donated over $275,000 to pet related causes through monthly grants and a variety of other programs. Privately held DogTime Media is based in San Francisco, Calif.

Media Contacts:

DogTime Media
Christina Kwan 
(415) 830-9323  
[email protected] 

SOURCE DogTime Media