OBG Cocker Spaniel Rescue Wins Bark Your Piece! Essay Contest

FALLS CHURCH, VA, June 08, 2012 (Press-News.org) Oldies But Goodies Cocker Spaniel Rescue, an animal charity in Newington, VA, won the $3000 grand prize grant and a portable pet waste station from Doody Calls (approximately $250 in value) in the Metro DC Dog Blog's Bark Your Piece! essay contest. Beth Bauer submitted the essay "It's All About Respect" and received 2,186 online votes for the entry. The third annual essay competition brought attention to responsible dog ownership and the importance of properly disposing of animal waste not only as part of caring for dogs responsibly but also to protect local waterways.

Learn More: http://www.metro-dc-dog-blog.com

"It's important for dog owners to be responsible, and I'm glad to hear that most are. One easy and important way to demonstrate the responsibility is to pick up the dog's waste. It keeps our neighborhoods healthy and clean, and also keeps our streams, rivers and drinking water sources free of disease-causing germs and bacteria," says Laura Grape of the Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners. "We're happy to give OBG Cocker Spaniel Rescue a grant to support their efforts to promote responsible dog ownership."

"We are so grateful to the Metro DC Dog Blog and its sponsors for having a contest that allows organizations like ours to speak for homeless animals and support our efforts to find forever homes for those animals," says Beth Bauer, writer of the winning essay. "This grant will do a lot to help our small, all-volunteer group care for, rehabilitate and re-home the dogs who come to us. And by explaining what we're looking for in responsible owners, we hope we can find more homes for those dogs and reduce the need for shelters and rescue groups."

The contest invited metropolitan DC-area animal charities to submit essays about what makes a dog owner responsible. Supporters of the organizations and dog owners across the area then visited the blog or the blog's Facebook page to vote for their favorite essays.

Homeward Trails Animal Rescue took the second place prize of $1,250 for their essay "A Howl for Change". Caring Hearts Rescue won a $750 grant for their third-place essay "Got Responsibility?".

You can read the winning essays at http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/207703/prize_giving

About the Metro DC Dog Blog
The Metro DC Dog Blog is sponsored by the Northern Virginia Clean Water Partners and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. The goals of the blog are to provide an informal channel for discussions about dogs in our communities; share information about dog-related services and regulations, and encourage owners to pick up after their dogs in order to maintain and improve water quality.

Contacts:
Laura Grape, Northern Virginia Regional Commission, 703-642-4625, lgrape@novaregion.org
Aileen Winquist, Arlington Department of Environmental Services, 703-228-3610, awinquist@arlingtonva.us
Eric Eckl, Water Words That Work, 703-829-6732, eric.eckl@waterwordsthatwork.com
Learn More: http://www.metro-dc-dog-blog.com

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.