Doggy Calendar Contest Will Raise Money For American Cancer Society

If you have a puppy at home, you might consider sitting down with her and asking the following question:

"Is you cute enough to be a calendar girl? Is you? Yes, you is! Yes, you is! What a good girl!"

It's important to have this discussion and make sure you are both on the same page before submitting your pup's picture for the Great Valley Bark for Life 2012 calendar contest. The money raised will benefit the American Cancer Society.

Vicki Hennig of Great Valley Bark for Life said she got the idea by combining two contests held by the Pottstown chapter of the group.

"If we can really kick this off, smaller Barks all over country will be able to use this model," Hennig said. "The key right now is to get the dogs entered."

Dog owners can send in their photos via email through April 15, after which time voting will begin. Votes will be cast in the form of donations to the charity, and can be submitted online, in person at Bark for Life events, or by mail via a printable form on the website.

The announcement of the winners will also take place at the annual Bark for Life event, a walking fundraiser held June 12 at Charlestown Township Park.

"Final voting will be at [Bark for Life], and hopefully a lot of folks will be able to strut their stuff" to solicit last-minute support, according to Hennig.

Here's a breakdown of the contest schedule:

• April 15: Deadline for photo submissions
• April 16: Voting begins ($1 donation = one vote, $5 minimum online)
• June 12: Voting ends, and winners are named at Bark for Life event

The top 12 vote-getters will each get a professional photo shoot, unless they prefer to use their contest photo, and their own month on the calendar.

Hennig said that she'd like the calendar to be ready in November and cost about $10, with some financial support from advertisers. She hopes to find a place to include small photos of all the contestants.

To see the contests, visit the group's Flickr page. For more information, visit greatvalleybarkforlife.com.