Given that dogs love us unconditionally, it's no surprise that many dog owners want to memorialize their furry friend with a permanent declaration of love in return. That's why BARK, the company behind monthly subscription service BarkBox, launched its third annual tattoo contest to give away free dog-inspired tattoos to people around the country.
The competition, which started on August 20, at the same time as National Dog Day, will run until September 6, 2024. To enter, participants simply need to submit a photo of their dog and a short essay on why their pup deserves to be permanently inked on their body. Winners will receive a $150 prepaid gift card to use toward an artist of their choice.
In the third year of the sweepstakes, Bark doubled the number of winners from 100 to 200, after the 2022 contest received 16,000 entries, and last year's sweepstake jumped to 24,000. The competition was primarily inspired by BARK's own dog-obsessed employees, many of whom sports tattoos inspired by their own fur babies.
“We've awarded 100 tattoo dog parents each year and continue to be amazed by the volume and heartwarming essays we receive,” said Dave Stangle, vice president of brand marketing for BARK. “At BARK, we're a team of dog people who want to do everything with dogs and for dogs, so we get it. We've received so many submissions over the years, we knew we needed to help more dog-obsessed people get their dream tattoos.”
Among the revelations collected by the company from previous years' submissions is that 17 percent of participants want to tattoo their dog because they consider their dog their best friend, while 13 percent want to get a tattoo in honor of a recently deceased dog. In addition, 950 said they would feel protected if they tattooed their dog, and more than 260 said they wanted their first tattoo to be of their dog.
Head over to BARK to enter the contest for free and check out the top 10 dog breeds that have inspired their humans to get tattoos below.
- Mutts
- Pitbull
- Bulldog
- Labrador retriever
- Dachshund
- Chihuahua
- Golden retriever
- german shepherd dog
- Corgi
- Pug