Arlington's 2015 Animal Essay Contest stirred up a lot of excitement with 1,019 contestants vying for the win! Council member Sheri Capehart, with an entourage of city officials, made personal visits to classrooms to surprise and congratulate the 12 winning writers. Competition was intense with Miller Elementary, Ditto Elementary and St. Maria Goretti Catholic School landing multiple essay winners.

Capehart, one of the innovative founders of the Animal Essay Contest, encourages all students that are Arlington residents attending third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades to participate each year. Capehart is a life-long supporter of animal welfare, and is dedicated to fostering responsible pet ownership education in youth. This year, she shares these thoughts and accolades to each participant:

"This is the City of Arlington's fourteenth annual Animal Essay Contest and it gets better each year. This contest is not about winning a prize, because everyone wins who takes the time to write, to learn, and to develop a better understanding of care and compassion for animals. We congratulate all students who took the time and cared enough about animals to enter."

The selection process for the top 12 winning essays was a challenge, with so many great entries. The ones that rose to the top were remarkably well focused, organized, and developed. In the quest to compose a winning essay, at least two of the young writers performed research by visiting the Animal Services' Center to gather information about shelter operations. One of these students was Eidan Loyola, a conscientious third grader at Morton Elementary school, who earned a winners' designation with his essay. Loyola's mom expressed that the contest "was a great opportunity for Eidan to practice his writing," and that it "made it possible for him to see that hard work pays off."

Hard work does pay off. *Drum roll, please!* as we announce this year's winners:

Third Grade

Essay Topic: If you were asked to help at a local animal shelter, what do you think you would be asked to do?

Fourth Grade

Essay Topic: What changes do cats and dogs have to make to live and survive as homeless pets?

Fifth Grade

Essay Topic: What advice would you give to pet owners in order to prevent overpopulation of cats & dogs?

Sixth Grade

Essay Topic: How would an overpopulation of homeless cats and dogs affect our local ecosystem?

Winners will be recognized by our Honorable Mayor Robert Cluck and City Council member Sheri Capehart during a regular meeting of the Arlington City Council on Tuesday, March 3. Each winner will receive contest prizes including a $100 savings account awarded by EECU and Beacon E&P, and Kindle Fire HD compliments of Beacon E&P.

Special thanks to each and every student that participated in this annual contest and all of our community partners that support creativity, good writing skills, and an abiding love and respect of animals.

• See photos of the school visits
• Visit the Animal Essay Contest website
• 2015 Animal Essay Contest flyer
• Like us on Facebook