Animal Shelters, Rescue Leagues, Adoption Charities Compete for Votes and Prizes!

FALLS CHURCH, VA, September 29, 2010 (Press-News.org) Calling all Virginia dog lovers! The polls are open through October 1! Local rescue leagues, animal shelters, and other dog-related charities are competing for your votes -- and the winning organizations will receive grants to support their important work, such as educating pet owners, providing veterinary care, spaying and neutering, and to finding loving homes for their animals!

Four local charities have submitted essays on the joys and responsibilities of dog ownership. They are now competing for votes from Virginia dog owners. The charities are:
• Akita Rescue
• Dogs Deserve Better
• Homeward Trails
• Pet Assistance League of Virginia

The review their essays and vote, point your browser to: http://northern-virginia-dog-blog.com/essay-contest

"We're sponsoring this contest to make a contribution to the local dog community, and to help introduce local dog lovers to the Northern Virginia Dog Blog," said Laura Grape, who chairs the partnership that sponsored the effort. "We're proud to work together with these local organizations to spread our message of responsible pet ownership."

The Northern Virginia Dog Blog is fun to read -- but it does have a serious side: preventing water pollution from dog doo left on the ground. Dog doo is a surprisingly large source of the disease causing germs. The contest sponsors estimate that there are more than half a million dogs in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, producing more than 50 million pounds of dog doo per year! Without proper disposal, this waste would foul area streams and increase pollution problems in the Chesapeake Bay downstrean.

To visit the Northern Virginia Dog Blog and learn more about the contest, point your browser to:
http://northern-virginia-dog-blog.com/essay-contest

About the Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners

The Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners represent 11 Northern Virginia local governments, three independent water and sanitary sewer authorities, and one regional commission and the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program. Our goal is to work together to keep local residents healthy and safe by reducing the amount of pollution that reaches local creeks and rivers. We use educational advertisements, publications, and websites to alert the citizens we serve about how they can do their part — simple steps they can take to make sure there is clean water in local waterways for families to enjoy them and for fish and animals to survive and thrive.

About the Northern Virginia Regional Commission

The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) is a regional council of fourteen member local governments in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington DC. NVRC is a political subdivision within the Commonwealth of Virginia. With a rich history spanning 60 years, NVRC's chief roles and functions have focused on providing information, performing professional and technical services for its members, and serving as a mechanism for regional coordination.

About Water Words That Work, LLC

Water Words That Work, LLC is a boutique environmental communications and marketing agency. We help our clients modernize and professionalize their pollution prevention, fundraising, and issue advocacy campaigns. Our clients include the National Park Service, the Ogeechee Riverkeeper, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, American Rivers, the Ohio Environmental Coalition, Save Georgia's Coast, and many other nature protection and pollution control organizations.

Contacts:
Laura Grape, Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners, Northern Virginia Regional Commission, (703) 642-4625
Eric Eckl, Water Words That Work, LLC, (703) 635-4380

Water Words That Work is a water blog, which explores how the conservation community can be more successful whenever we set out to change everyday citizens' minds and behavior. Water Words That Work re-orients nature protection and pollution control experts to the vocabulary and perspective of everyday citizens, and helps you translate your shoptalk into environmental writing that is clear and compelling to them.