KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Waverly, Iowa has been named the ‘top dog’ in PetSafe’s Bark for Your Park nationwide contest and has won $100,000 to build a new dog park.

PetSafe® Brand, a leading innovator in pet behavior and lifestyle solutions, announced today that Waverly, a town in Iowa with a population of about 9,874, received the most votes—a total of 133,545 votes—out of the 15 finalists in PetSafe’s fourth annual Bark for Your Park contest, which launched in May to award one U.S. community $100,000 and four runner-up communities $25,000 each to build a local dog park.

More than 1,400 cities were nominated in this year’s contest. In June, PetSafe announced the 15 finalist cities, which were broken into three categories according to city size based on population: large, medium, and small. In addition to Waverly’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 city’s population, also won $25,000.

The 2014 Bark for Your Park runner-up cities for each category include:

• Hattiesburg, a town in Mississippi with a population of about 45,989, was the runner-up in the large city category with a total of 34,592 votes, and won $25,000.
• Port Chester, a town in New York with a population of about 28,967, was the runner-up in the medium city category with a total of 67,503 votes, and won $25,000.
• Tehachapi, a town in California with a population of about 14,414, was the runner-up in the small city category with a total of 64,449 votes, and won $25,000.
• Enfield, a town in New Hampshire with a population of about 1,540, was named the Bark from Your Heart winner with a total of 16,769 votes, and also won $25,000.

“We could not be prouder of each of this year’s Bark for Your Park 2014 contest winners,” Randy Boyd, president and CEO of Radio Systems Corporation, makers of the PetSafe brand, said. “Each of these communities showed us the true meaning of teamwork by rallying together in order to make their dreams of a dog park a reality in their towns. PetSafe congratulates Waverly, Hattiesburg, Port Chester, Tehachapi, and Enfield for their commitment to improving the quality of life of dogs in their communities.”

Robin Rhea, senior brand manager for PetSafe, said all of this year’s contest winners were very creative and determined in their efforts.

“Hattiesburg recruited Brett Favre for their public service announcement, Port Chester raffled off a chance to win $10,000, Tehachapi used incredible visuals, Enfield organized numerous fundraising events and activities, and Waverly launched their ‘Who’s Voting Today’ campaign, all of which involved a diverse group of dog park supporters in a fun, dynamic way,” Rhea said. “We’ve been watching and listening since May and can’t believe the incredible efforts that have been shown by each of the winning communities.”

Waverly City Councilmember Derrick Wygle entered the city into the contest after people in Waverly communicated their desire to have their very own local dog park. The Waverly Jaycees are also very passionate about building a dog park in their community and have been trying for several years to raise enough money to do so.

“For years there’s been this idea floating around that we could someday get together to build one and people are pretty excited that it could become a reality,” Waverly Jaycees President Joshua Schneiderman said.

Waverly and all of the winning communities won’t have to wait much longer to start seeing their dog park dreams come true. PetSafe will provide each of this year’s Bark for Your Park winners with the opportunity to vote on aspects of their dog parks beginning in late September. For more information about this year’s Bark for Your Park contest winners, please visit www.petsafe.net/barkforyourpark.

About PetSafe Brand®

Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., PetSafe® brand is an industry brand leader in the development of innovative pet behavioral, containment and lifestyle product solutions and services. For more information, please visit www.petsafe.net or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.