Discovery Blog

The Cast of Animal Planet's 'Dog Park'

As an aspiring dog owner at a company filled with many pet parents, I often ask my “I’d-love-to-get-a-dog-but-what-about-this?” questions to my pup owning co-workers. Growing up in Upstate New York (think farms, not fashion) I have had no previous experience at the dog park, but I had many questions about them (How do the people all know each other? When do you know if the dogs are play fighting vs. real fighting?) Not only were they able to impart their pet-owner wisdom, but listening to their stories made me quickly realize there are rules, practices, community…essentially, a dog park code.

Animal Planet was familiar with the code and, when they launched their web-only series Dog Park in October 2011, fans flocked to the five outspoken characters (and their pooches) who gathered at Washington Square dog park in New York City. After bumping into one another countless times, the five dog lovers decided to form a group to improve the functioning of the community-run park. Animal Planet‘s team captured the ins and outs of the dog park community, complete with park bench confessionals.

We were thrilled to learn today that the series has won the People’s Voice Webby Award in the Online Video – Reality category. While winning any award is always a great nod to the hard work of our teams, winning a People’s Voice award always adds an extra layer of excitement. Congratulations to the entire Animal Planet team! You made the dog park look so fun, I may just have to get a dog after all.