KNOXVILLE, Tenn., July 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The dog-loving community of Jacksonville, Ill.'s barks were heard. Today, PetSafe^® brand, an industry leader in the development of innovative pet behavioral, containment and lifestyle product solutions, has announced that Jacksonville, Ill. is the grand prize winner in its fifth annual Bark for Your Park Contest and has won $100,000 to build a new dog park.

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Jacksonville, a town in Illinois with a population of 19,466, received the most votes – a total of 54,727 – out of the 16 finalists in PetSafe brand's Bark for Your Park Contest.

More than 1,000 communities were nominated for this year's contest, which launched in May.  In June, PetSafe announced the 16 finalists, which were broken into three categories according to community size based on population: large, medium and small. In addition to Jacksonville's $100,000 grand prize, the runner-up city in each small, medium, and large population category also won $25,000. The Bark from Your Heart city, which had the highest percentage of votes to the community's population, also won $25,000.

The 2015 Bark for Your Park Contest runner-ups for each category include:

• Watkinsville, a town in Georgia with a population of 32,808, was the runner-up in the large city category with a total of 30,280 votes, and won $25,000.
• Merrimack, a town in New Hampshire with a population of 25,494, was the runner-up in the medium city category with a total of 16,582 votes, and won $25,000.
• Fort Gratiot, a town in Michigan with a population of 11,108, was the runner-up in the small city category with a total of 31,013 votes, and won $25,000.
• Epworth, a town in Iowa with a population of 1,860, was named the Bark from Your Heart winner with a total of 27,504 votes, and also won $25,000.

"We were absolutely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and passion exhibited by this year's finalists," said Tracy Mulder, Marketing Manager, PetSafe brand. "Our goal is to help provide dog parks that communities will truly love, use and support for years to come."

For more information about this year's Bark for Your Park contest winners, please visit www.petsafe.net/barkforyourpark.

About the PetSafe^® brand
PetSafe brand is an industry leader in the development of innovative pet behavioral, containment and lifestyle product solutions. PetSafe brand is owned by Radio Systems^® Corporation and headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn. For more information, please visit www.petsafe.net or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE PetSafe brand

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http://www.petsafe.net