Although our gratitude toward America’s working dogs is limitless, Diamond Pet Foods asks you to sum up in 500 words or less all that your working dog does for you.
The second annual Labor Dog Essay Contest awards assistance dogs, therapy dogs, police and military K9 units, farm hounds, movie stars, and other working dogs that contribute to the lives of their owners or communities on a daily basis.
The 2006 winners include G.G. (Golden Girl), a Golden Retriever from Texas who assists her owner who is afflicted with cerebral palsy; Hero, a Rottweiler from Missouri and therapy dog working with individuals ages 6 to 96; Kevin, a German Shepherd Dog at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., a trained security dog who was on tour in Iraq with his handler Dan McClain; Snooker, a Jack Russell Terrier and Maremmas Scout, Yankee, and Smidge, who all helped their wheelchair-bound owner through a tornado.
To enter your dog or a dog you know, e-mail your essay to labordogs@diamondpet.com as an attached Word document or PDF file. For complete contest rules, visit www.diamondpet.com. Essays must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., Central Daylight Time, on August 6, 2007.
The five selected winners will receive a 40-pound bag of Diamond Naturals each month for a year.