The Hollister Dog Owners Group has long had a vision of what a
dream dog park would be
– complete with double-gated entrances, areas for small and
large dogs, a fire hydrant water fountain, swimming pools and more.
But with limited funds in the city and reliance on donations from
canine-friendly residents, movements to open a dog park in a fenced
in area near the Hollister Airport h
ave been slow moving.
The Hollister Dog Owners Group has long had a vision of what a dream dog park would be – complete with double-gated entrances, areas for small and large dogs, a fire hydrant water fountain, swimming pools and more. But with limited funds in the city and reliance on donations from canine-friendly residents, movements to open a dog park in a fenced in area near the Hollister Airport have been slow moving.
Tammy Ballew and the other board members are hoping to speed things along if they win $500,000 in the Beneful brand dog food WagWorld dream dog park contest, in which Ballew and her dog Bailey are finalists. Out of 65 entries, the Hollister Dog Park was selected as one of the top 10 entries to compete for the half-million-dollar prize.
“One of the board members for the club saw it on a Web site,” Ballew said. “She forwarded it out to us and we thought we would give it a try.”
The first round of the competition included an application process that required a 100-word essay and a two-minute video that explains how the money would be used to improve “your daily adventure with your dog.” All four board members collaborated on the essay and video, even though the contest requires entries from individuals rather than organizations. Ballew and her dog are the official entrants in the contest and are featured in the video.
“We showed basically the fact that we don’t have anything,” she said.
In the video, which can be viewed online at http://dreamdogpark.wagworld.com/ViewIndividualEntry.aspx?contestantid=1239, where people can vote daily until Aug. 11 for the Hollister park, the videographer merges the real footage with a few artistic renderings of what the park could look like. The drawings show the fire hydrant fountain, dog swimming pools shaped as bones as well as some topiaries in the shape of dogs.
The finalists will be judged based on creativity of the idea to enhance the daily adventure with the dogs; feasibility of bringing the idea to life; and effectively demonstrating how life is better together with your dog. The online votes account for as many as 10 points in the competition.
The winner of the contest will be announced in September.
To vote for the Hollister Dog Park, visit http://dreamdogpark.wagworld.com/ViewIndividualEntry.aspx?contestantid=1239. People can vote once per day through Aug. 11, and the first 10,000 voters are eligible for a free dog toy.
