BISSELL® Calls All Pets to its Fourth Annual Most Valuable Pet Photo Contest

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- BISSELL Homecare, Inc. today launched the Most Valuable Pet (MVP) Photo Contest, the fourth annual search for the nation's most photogenic pets, which has garnered more than 150,000 entries since its inception. The MVP Photo Contest runs January 5 - April 5, 2011, and invites pet lovers to submit and vote for their favorite pet photos at www.bissell.com/mvp. New this year, the competition is open to Canadian pets and pet lovers, who, like their American colleagues, will compete for the grand prize of $10,000 to donate to the pet charity of their choice, plus a $500 shopping spree and the opportunity to be featured on BISSELL pet product packaging.

"Each year, BISSELL looks forward to demonstrating our company-wide commitment to pets with an initiative that gives back to the pet community," said Ryan McLean, BISSELL's senior director of marketing. "Since its launch in 2008, the MVP Photo Contest has given more than $53,000 in support of pet charities in the U.S. We are delighted to open the competition to pet parents in Canada and broaden our support of pet charities in 2011."

To enter, pet parents can once again submit photos of their pets on bissell.com, and can now upload photos from their Facebook, Flickr and Shutterfly accounts as well. Entrants can even share their photo entries on Facebook to gather votes from friends, family and fellow pet lovers. The five pets with the highest number of votes from each week of the contest will move on to the semi-finals, from which the grand-prize winner and second through fifth prize winners will be selected. As in past years, BISSELL will announce the weekly winners and offer exclusive contest news via Twitter and Facebook.

In addition to the MVP Photo Contest $10,000 grand prize donation, runner-up prizes include a $5,000 donation to a pet charity for the second-place winner and $1,000 donations for each of the third-, fourth- and fifth-place winners. Each of the runners up will also be featured on a BISSELL pet product package and receive his or her choice of BISSELL's pet clean-up products. The five pets with the highest number of votes from each week of the contest will receive a $25 Visa gift card, with the top vote getter also receiving a BISSELL pet product.

Last year, Gracey, a mixed domestic short-hair feline, triumphed over nearly 50,000 entrants to claim the title of 2010 MVP Grand Prize Winner. Gracey is the inspiration behind the children's book The Tiniest Tiger  and the Conservation Cub Club, a feline education and support community. Gracey and her pet parent, Joanne McGonagle, selected the PurrEver Ranch Sanctuary to receive the $10,000 grand prize donation. PurrEver Ranch Sanctuary is a non-profit hospice for senior and special needs cats that suffer from disease or behavior issues, one of very few feline-specific hospices. In 2009, Norman, a golden retriever from Columbus, Ohio was the grand prize winner. He and his "foster pet parent," Tara Driscoll, donated their $10,000 prize toward the cost of a seizure dog to assist two special needs children in their community. Brewster, a Bernese mountain dog from Anchorage, Ala., was the contest's first grand prize winner in 2008. The Peoria Park District received the $10,000 donation for construction of a new dog park in Peoria, Ill.

For further information on BISSELL's MVP Photo Contest or to enter your own pet, please visit www.bissell.com.

About BISSELL Homecare, Inc.

A 135-year-old company, Grand Rapids-based BISSELL Homecare, Inc., is the top-selling brand in floor care appliances in North America with an expanding presence worldwide. As an innovator of cleaning products, BISSELL produces and sells vacuums, sweepers, deep-cleaning machines, bare floor cleaners and cleaning formulas at retail locations across the globe. The company is in its fourth generation of family leadership.

SOURCE BISSELL Homecare, Inc.