Photo Provided “Pitbull Love Muffin” by Michele Silverberg won the ARC calendar competition.

The votes are in and the top “pin-up” has been announced. Pooch pin-up, that is.
The Animal Refuge Center of North Fort Myers started an on-line contest to not only gain awareness of their good work, but to publish and sell at functions a printed piece as well as an on-line a calendar of cute pets for the new year.
The winner was “Pitbull Love Muffin” by Michele Silverberg, who gets the top honor and top prizes.
If you look on-line at the contest site, they are not the final photos that will be featured in the calendar. “All winners go to a professional photography session and the photos taken there are used for the calendar,” said organizer and ARC trustee Cassandra Engeldinger.
It was Engeldinger’s brainchild, said ARC Treasurer Betty Hughes – an on-line way to reach out to more in the social networking stratosphere to let them know about ARC.
Individuals were invited to submit pet photos on-line and then votes were taken via Facebook. Those Facebook friends are now friends of ARC.
“The contest was a huge success,” said Engeldinger. “We raised over $400 in entry fees alone and gained over 550 fans and counting on our Facebook Fan page (surpassing our goal of 1000 fans) as a result of this contest, we have sold half of our banner ads for the calendar so far as well.”
The calendar will be available mid-November and will be sold at various ARC events as well as in stores throughout Southwest Florida. “What I would suggest is that your readers log on to our website to pre-order their calendar. They don’t have to pay but they will be contacted immediately when they become available so that they can ensure they get one as quantities will be limited.”
Here is the link to the pre-order form: animalrefugecenter.com/pre-order-your-2011-arc-pet-photo-calendar-today.
The top winner Silverberg will receive a cover shot and the month of choice in ARC’s 2011 Pet Pin-Up Calendar, a $150 photo session with SandBarPhotography.com, a $25 Gift Certificate to Tender Magic Pet Grooming, a hand painted, personalized water or food dish designed by CassandraMDesigns.com, a $25 Gift Card and 1lb of cookies from Paw-radise Estero and a $10 gift certificate to Petco.

Other winners include:
#2 — Tuff by Jodi Bennett
#3 — Peanut by Al and Betty Knobbe
#4 — Muff and Bo Bo by Barbara Zirilli-Lonergan
#5 — Matilda by Sandy Bontly
#6 — Double Trouble by Howie Spratlin
#7 — Chula In Leopard by Lori Spratlin
#8 — Captain Dolly by Penny Nicol
#9 — My Furbabies by Carolyn Winegardner
#10 — Bella Swan by Karen Rokosh
#11 — Beach Baby by Jennifer Christiansen
#12 — Madison Loves To Swim by Jamie Kuser
They will all receive a pet photo featured on one month of the 2011 ARC calendar, a free family and pet photo session with SandBarPhotography.com ($150 value) and a $10 Petco Gift Card.
You can visit ARC’s Facebook Page at: Facebook.com/AnimalRefugeCenter and click the “contest” tab to see all the entries.
Besides being a trustee, Engeldinger is vice president and COO of Cyber-Sunshine, Inc. who designed ASRC’s new website. “The new site is packed full of information on ARC as well as a new online Cafe Press Gift Shop where users can go to buy promo items for ARC. We are very proud of all of this and hope it will help bring additional revenue to support our mission.”
Incorporated in 1988, Animal Refuge Center is a not-for-profit, no kill shelter, an animal welfare society dedicated to caring for all homeless animals on an over 22-plus acre sanctuary in North Fort Myers. The sanctuary houses 36 canine lodges, a Canine Training Center, a Cat Adoption Center, 16 feline facilities, and is home to more than 500 cats and dogs.
It is located at 18011 Old Bayshore Rd. near the Lee Civic Center. For more information visit animalrefuge.com or call 731-3535.