April 21, 2008

Charlotte, NC—  Cocoa Latte, a frolicking 2˝ year old American Eskimo breed female dog, has won the much-heralded Harris Teeter Purina® Top Dog Photo Contest for 2008.  Cocoa Latte's photo, showing the white dog against a snowy background, captured 31,467 votes, or 53.9% of the votes cast online at www.parkandrec.com, the website of Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department. Dog Lovers cast votes online April 1-19. 

The contest is a preliminary to the Harris Teeter/Purina® Bark in the Park dog festival Saturday, April 26, 10am-4pm in William R. Davie Park, 4635 Pineville-Matthews Road (NC Highway 51). This festival is FREE to the public. Parking is at Calvary Church with shuttle vans to Bark in the Park.

Cocoa Latte is owned by Bill Stasik and Mary Lytch of Concord. In a poem submitted with the photo, they say Cocoa Latte's fur is "white as snow," that she "likes to frolic and is never melancholic," and is full of tail wags and licks, hoping for a chance "to show off her tricks."

Cocoa Latte's photo was one of three selected as finalists by a panel of judges, based on cleverness and originality. In all, 93 photos were entered.  Entries increased 50% this year! The Top Dog will receive a photo portrait donated by Deborah Triplett Studios. The winner and her masters will also act as grand marshals of the WAXN Pooch Parade at this year's Bark in the Park and receive a year's supply of "yourpet" brand dog food and a Harris Teeter/Purina® prize pack.  Between the other two finalists, Sterling came in second with 37.2% of votes cast, and Bear came in third with 8.9% of the votes.

The Bark in the Park dog festival is expected to draw several thousand "dogs and the people they own."  Last year more than 10-thousand people and about 5,000 dogs attended.  The Ultimate Air Dogs, presented by Purina®, will entertain with captivating feats of jumping, diving, and fetching. The festival will include contests such as Pet/Owner Look-Alike, Best Costume, Best Bark, Largest Dog, Smallest Dog, and Best Trick. Registration for these contests will be at the event. The festival will include many exhibits, dog products, adoptable dogs on display, food, fun and great dogs to see and greet.  Proceeds from the Harris Teeter Purina® Bark in the Park dog festival will help raise money for future off-leash dog parks.