Our dogs deserve opportunities to play, romp, sniff and explore as well as safe places to mingle with dogs who speak their language. That’s why I pose this question to you: If you had $500,000 to create a dream dog park where you and your best buddy can play together, what would you do?

The best creative answer could land you $10,000, a year’s supply of Beneful® dog food and a $500,000 makeover that transforms your local ho-hum dog park into one that will have people yapping about in admiration.

Stop day dreaming and start making this a reality by entering the 3rd annual Beneful Dream Dog Park Contest. Upload a photo of your dog and submit a short essay (250 words or less) that answers the question listed above by Aug. 22. Send it to the contest website: www.benefuldreamdogpark.com.

Twenty finalists will be selected and then asked to submit videos (two minutes or less) that will be judged by Beneful’s Dream Team consisting of Emmy-award winning actor Eric Stonestreet of ABC’s Modern Family, DIY Desperate Landscape show star Jason Cameron and me serving as the pet behavior consultant. The ultimate grand prize winner will be picked based on our votes (80 percent) and the pet-loving public (20 percent).

It would be great if San Diego won such a park. These dream parks are truly heaven on earth for dogs of all ages, sizes, breeds and energy levels. I recently returned from the grand opening of the second Beneful Dream Dog Park in Alabaster, Alabama at Veterans Park. The park wowed the crowd with its splash pads, synthetic turf (no more muddy paws), football fetch field (Alabama is in the heart of football country), tennis ball dispenser, and adventure path and boulders plus many more canine amenities.

Stonestreet charmed the crowd with his wit and humor, but really won them over when he described his best friend – his 12-year-old beagle mix named Coleman Hawkins. Later, he told me that he loves his dog so much that he deserves a full name. And Cameron’s best pal is CJ, his three-legged dog, who survived cancer. My best buddies answer to the names of Chipper and Cleo, who are usually just a tail wag away.

Dogs deserve opportunities to play with a purpose in safe environments. I invite you to enter this contest. Details at www.benefuldreamdogpark.com.