First-of-its-Kind Contest Invites Dog Owners to Share Their Dreams for the Ultimate Dog Park

ST. LOUIS, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine how much fun it would be to help create a dream dog park that you and your best buddy and your entire community could enjoy!  For millions of dog owners, life truly is better together with their four-legged friends.  To celebrate these special relationships, Beneful® brand dog food is announcing a first-of-its-kind contest that could make one lucky dog owner's dream come true.

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The Beneful® WagWorld™ Dream Dog Park Contest invites dog owners to imagine the many ways they would create the ultimate dream dog park if they had $500,000 to spend. Whether they and their best buddy would like trails to run, a sandy beach area to explore or small foothills to climb, dog owners can enter the national online video contest and share their ideas to help create a dream destination where they could spend even more quality time with their four-legged friends. Dog owners can enter the contest at benefuldreamdogpark.com.

One lucky winner's idea for the ultimate dream dog park will help serve as inspiration for a $500,000 renovation of a dog park in their area.  The Grand Prize Winner will receive $5,000 cash and a year's supply of Beneful® brand dog food.  The Beneful WagWorld Dream Team, led by dog lover, design expert and television host Jason Cameron, will manage the transformation of the dog park to create the WagWorld Dream Dog Park for the dog-loving community to enjoy.  Also on the team is pet expert and bestselling author Arden Moore, who will help manage the renovation from the dog's point of view.

In addition to the Grand Prize Winner, nine runners' up will each receive a year's supply of Beneful® brand dog food.

"My dog CJ and I are best buddies and we truly love spending time together, whether it's playing at the park, running errands or hanging out on the couch," said Jason Cameron, dog lover, TV personality and head designer for the Beneful® WagWorld™ Dream Dog Park Contest. "I'm excited to see how other dog lovers enjoy life with their four-legged friends, and to hear their dreams to help create the ultimate dog park for their daily adventures together."

Dog owners across America can enter the contest starting now through June 18 by submitting a video (not to exceed two minutes) that answers the question: If you had $500,000 to create the ultimate dream dog park for you and your best buddy, what would you do?  Entrants must also describe in 100 words or less how a makeover of their neighborhood dog park could enhance their daily adventures with their dog. The $500,000 renovation will be awarded as an in-kind donation to a public or non-profit dog park in the winner's area.  

"I'm excited to team up with Beneful for this contest to celebrate the joy our dogs bring to our lives," said Cameron.  "Life truly is better together with our four-legged friends and it will be fun to see the creative ideas that dog owners dream up to enhance their daily adventures with their dogs.  Remember, dream big!"  

Beneful WagWorld Dream Dog Park Contest Timeline

• May 3 – June 18 – Contest entry period
• June 2010 – Entries will be judged by an independent panel based on their creativity (60%), feasibility of bringing the idea to life (20%) and demonstration of how life is better together with your dog (20%).
• July 14 – August 11, 2010 – The top ten finalists will be announced and their videos will be posted on benefuldreamdogpark.com for public viewing and voting.
• August 2010 – The Beneful WagWorld Dream Team, led by Jason Cameron, will select the Grand Prize Winner from the 10 finalists using the same judging criteria as the first round.  This final judging will account for 90% of the total score to select the Grand Prize Winner; the assigned public voting rank will account for the remaining 10% of the final score.
• September 2010 – A celebration event will take place in the Grand Prize Winner's hometown to reveal the blueprint for the WagWorld Dream Dog Park.
• Spring 2011 – The much anticipated unveiling of the newly renovated park will take place.

For more information about the contest and the official rules, visit benefuldreamdogpark.com.

About the Beneful® Brand

Manufactured by the Nestle 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. Beneful was introduced in 2001 and is one of Purina's most successful food brands in the Company's history. The North American headquarters for the Nestle Purina PetCare Company is located at Checkboard Square in St. Louis, Missouri, where Ralston Purina Company was founded more than a century ago. Nestle 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, Nestle Purina PetCare is part of the Swiss-based Nestle S.A.- the world's largest food company.

SOURCE Beneful