Bissell Homecare Inc. is again searching for the most photogenic pets in the U.S. and Canada to feature on future product packaging. It launched the fourth annual Most Valuable Pet (MVP) Photo Contest, which runs from Jan. 5 to April 5, 2011, and invites pet lovers to submit and vote for their favorite pet photos at www.bissell.com/mvp.

New this year, the competition is open to Canadian pets and pet lovers, who, like their American colleagues, will compete for the grand prize of $10,000 to donate to the pet charity of their choice, plus a $500 shopping spree and the opportunity to be featured on Bissell pet product packaging.

The competition has garnered more than 150,000 entries since its inception.

"Each year, Bissell looks forward to demonstrating our company-wide commitment to pets with an initiative that gives back to the pet community," says Ryan McLean, Bissell's senior director of marketing. "Since its launch in 2008, the MVP Photo Contest has given more than $53,000 in support of pet charities in the U.S. We are delighted to open the competition to pet parents in Canada and broaden our support of pet charities in 2011."

To enter, pet parents can once again submit photos of their pets on bissell.com, and can now upload photos from their Facebook, Flickr and Shutterfly accounts as well. Entrants can even share their photo entries on Facebook to gather votes from friends, family and fellow pet lovers.

The five pets with the highest number of votes from each week of the contest will move on to the semi-finals, from which the grand-prize winner and second through fifth prize winners will be selected. As in past years, Bissell will announce the weekly winners and offer exclusive contest news via Twitter and Facebook.

In addition to the MVP Photo Contest $10,000 grand prize donation, runner-up prizes include a $5,000 donation to a pet charity for the second-place winner and $1,000 donations for each of the third-, fourth- and fifth-place winners.

Each of the runners up will also be featured on a Bissell pet product package and receive his or her choice of Bissell's pet clean-up products. The five pets with the highest number of votes from each week of the contest will receive a $25 Visa gift card, with the top vote getter also receiving a Bissell pet product.

Source: Bissell Homecare Inc.

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