VDOT has officially kicked off construction on the new Washington & Old Dominion Trail bridge over Lee Highway.
A new county video, above, shows renderings of the white bridge with decorative safety walls over the highway. The bridge is expected to accommodate the approximately 2,000 daily trail users.
The construction is part of the project to widen I-66 eastbound between Exits 67 and 71, which began last year. As part of the construction, some disruptions are expected for trail users and drivers in the area.
Per Arlington County:
Bicyclists and pedestrians should expect a temporary trail realignment and detours during construction. The first trail detour has closed the W&OD Trail between Little Falls Street and Lee Highway (near mile marker 5.5) and for a short portion on the east side of Lee Highway. In addition, Fairfax Drive will be closed to traffic, Lee Highway will have short traffic stoppages at night, and there may be lane closures on side streets.
“Once the project is complete, cyclists and pedestrians can expect a much-improved experience on this portion of the W&OD Trail,” the county said in a press release.
(Updated at 3:50 p.m.) Arlington Public Schools is seeking public input on a new plan officials hope will help protect transgender students from discrimination.
The Policy Implementation Procedure (PIP) released yesterday (Tuesday) contains several ways the county’s public school system plans to fulfill a 2015 policy promising protections for transgender and non-binary student from harassments, and to ensure these students had the same educational opportunities as their peers.
The three-page document outlines several ways schools can accomplish this, including:
Converting some single stall bathrooms into gender neutral bathrooms, and allowing students to use bathrooms that are consistent with their identity
Assigning students to rooms during overnight trips that match their gender identity, and allowing any student who is “uncomfortable sharing” a sleep area, or shower or bathroom, to access a “designated safe, non-stigmatizing alternative”
Requiring teachers to refer to students by their preferred names and pronouns
Directing staff to not share information about a student’s gender identity and gender transition “unless legally required to do so,” or unless the student gives permission to share
In an email shared with parents, APS noted that the PIP was developed with input from the National School Boards Association’s Transgender Students in Schools Guide. Residents can submit feedback on the plan via an online survey or by emailing [email protected].
“In keeping with the APS vision and core values, this PIP is being developed to ensure that all students feel accepted and safe in inclusive school environments, including our transgender and gender non-conforming youth,” Dr. Tara Nattrass, assistant superintendent of Teaching and Learning, said in a statement to ARLnow.
Dr. Julie Alexandrin, Arlington Gay Lesbian Alliance board member and education psychology expert, praised the plan for its thoroughness and inclusive definitions of gender. However, she said, “the real question will be the implementation and how people are held accountable to it — not just faculty and staff but also students.”
When it comes to sports, the PIP proposes that students be able to “participate in any co-curricular or extra-curricular activity consistent with their gender identity” but notes that “athletic participation regulated by the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association (VASRA) must be in compliance with rules outlined by that organization.”
“That shows us where our next battle is,” said Alexandrin. She added that it’s important the county follow the state rules in order not to disqualify current athletes in sports like crew, which recent funding battles revealed has a strong fan base.
“There’s only so much the school system can do without hurting the students,” she said.
The plan generated controversy among some who opposed special anti-discrimination policies based on gender identity. Several opponents aired frustrations in blog posts, and two criticized the School Board during an April 11 meeting for not sharing more information during the PIP drafting process.
One public speaker at the April meeting said the PIP features a “presumption of gender fluidity and a heavy emphasis on supporting and education about gender transition” and could therefore be harmful to “gender dysphoric children.”
A parent who testified at hearing later that month said she sympathized with parents’ concern over how policy changes might impact their children, but added “when your fear marginalizes our children, you leave them to be bullied or worse.” She noted that her transgender son said he’s “tired of being the rope in this tug-of-war.”
“I think that’s why you have to talk about respect and what respect means,” said Alexandrin, who identifies as lesbian. “You can disagree with gay marriage but treat me with respect as a person. We can still have civil conversation about it, and we can still treat each other with respect. And that’s what we need to teach youth.”
“This is a sensitive topic for many, and it is a more prominent area of focus for PreK-12 education than it was at that time,” said Nattrass, when asked why the plan picked up controversy after the original non-discrimination policy passed with little fanfare four years ago.
“Recognizing the sensitivities, APS staff have taken a considerable amount of time and care to gather input from many perspectives, including APS staff and advisory groups, as well as several outside sources, including the National School Board Association’s guide on policies for transgender students in schools,” Nattrass said.
Pet of the Week Paya (Image courtesy of owner Lizzi)
Pet of the Week Paya (Image courtesy of owner Lizzi)
Pet of the Week Paya (Image courtesy of owner Lizzi)
Arlington’s newest pet the of week is Paya, a white cat without much of a tail.
Here’s what owner Lizzi had to say about Paya’s thoughts on living in Arlington County:
Yo! I’m Paya, but I also go by Papaya, Beans, or Bubby. My mom adopted me from a rescue — that’s where the best pets come from in my oh so humble opinion — and I’ve been living in Arlington with her for the last two years.
If I was running for office, my campaign would be built on table naps, window views, and stylish bandanas for all (especially for me). I also love human food, so please leave your leftovers on the table and I’ll get it for you! C’mon, just leave a girl some cheese and muffins from time to time.
My favorite part of me is my really short tail. People always say I look like a bunny, and that’s fine, I think rabbits are cool too. We both like jumping around and being cute, so what’s there not to like?
Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email[email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!
Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.
Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.
Armed Forces Cycling Classic (Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman)
Armed Forces Cycling Classic (Flickr pool photo by Michael Coffman)
(Updated at 11:00 a.m.) The Armed Forces Cycling Classic is returning to Arlington this weekend, prompting several road closures.
Teams will compete in a series of races sponsored by the the Boeing Company on Saturday, June 1, to win the “Crystal Cup.” The teams will then return on Sunday, June 2, for a chance to win the “Clarendon Cup.” This series marks the 22nd year for the annual event.
This Saturday, the race will open with an all ages “Challenge Ride” from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. at 2100 Crystal Drive along a 10 kilometer track. Afterwards, the event will shift gear to line up the day’s professional and amateur races.
ACPD said police will close several streets in Crystal City and Rosslyn from 4:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, including:
Crystal Drive, from S. 15th Street through S. 23rd Street
Wilson Boulevard, from N. Kent Street to the Route 110 ramp
Route 110, from Rosslyn to Crystal City
S. Clark Street, from S. 20th Street to S. 23rd Street
S. 20th Street, from Crystal Drive to S. Clark Street
S. 18th Street, from Crystal Drive to S. Bell Street
S. 23rd Street from Crystal Drive to S. Clark Street
Crystal Drive (West side), from S. 23rd St to the Central Center Parking Garage
S. 12th Street and Long Bridge Drive
Competitors will roll into the Clarendon Cup Cycling Classic on Sunday. Professional teams will race 100-laps around a 1 kilometer area. Police said they plan to close the following roads from 4:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to accommodate the event:
Wilson Blvd, from N. Fillmore Street to Washington Blvd
Clarendon Blvd, from Washington Blvd to N. Fillmore Street
Washington Blvd, from Wilson Blvd to N. Highland Street
North Highland Street, from Wilson Blvd to Washington Blvd
North Garfield Street / N. Fillmore Street, from Wilson Blvd to Washington Blvd
Organizers recommend attendees park at the Crystal City underground at 1600 Crystal Drive but warn them to remove bicycle roof racks from vehicles before driving down into the parking garage.
The county said in a press release that parking near both races is limited, and is encouraging attendees to use Metro or ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Metro-goers can access the Armed Forces Cycling Classic from the Crystal City Metro station, and the Clarendon Cup race via the Clarendon Metro station. Both stations are open during Metro’s summer shutdown south of Reagan National Airport.
For both events, police are warning drivers to keep on the lookout for additional road closures and “no parking” signs in around the events.
Step One: Residents are encouraged to bring their compost to the Trade Center where DES staff chuck it in the composting machine
Step Two: Solid Bureau Waste Chief Erik Grabowsky (right) and workers Travis Haddock (middle) and Lee Carrig (left) manage the loading of food waste into the compost machine
Step Three: The earthflow composting system churns food waste with an auger and speeds up decomposition with the heat from insulated walls and a glass roof
Step Four: the Solid Waste Bureau sifts the final mix of compost with a hulking red trammel screen machine
AFAC is experimenting using the compost in its organic garden on S. Walter Reed Drive which grows several types of vegetables
Vegetables are donated from gardens straight to AFAC
AFAC staff and volunteers bag vegetables and fruit donations from farms and gardens and grocery stores at the food bank
Step Eight: Earnest Williams is one of the AFAC staff who moves quickly to unload new food donations and sort them at the food bank
AFAC presents food for residents in shelves and refrigerators are different distribution centers across the county
Step Ten: When plants finish their growing cycle, volunteers cycle in other vegetables to keep the garden productive
AFAC Communications Manger Jeremiah Huston (left) and Associate Director of Programs & Plot Against Hunger Manager Puwen Lee (right)
AFAC’s Walter Reed garden grows strawberries, but only for the volunteers — the fruits are too delicate to ship well and don’t stay ripe long enough for food bank clients
Arlington County is turning trash into treasure by growing thousands of pounds of fresh produce for a local food bank using compost from residents.
Last February, Arlington’s Solid Waste Bureau began a pilot program to create compost from residents’ food scraps. Now some of that compost is coming full circle and being used in some of the local gardens that supply fresh produce for Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC).
AFAC is a nonprofit that receives around a million and a half pounds of food donations annually. The goods comes from several sources: grocery stores, private food drives, farmers markets and farms, and gardens around the region, according to spokesman Jeremiah Huston. Part of that comes from its “Plot Against Hunger” program, which cultivates the fresh produce.
AFAC staffer Puwen Lee manages this program, which she helped grow back in 2007 after noticing the food bank distributed frozen vegetables even in the summer months.
“And I thought, ‘This is really strange because I got so many vegetables in my garden,'” she said. After mentioning it to the nonprofit’s leadership, Lee said the director dropped off 600 packs of seeds on her desk and left it up to her.
Since then, Lee, who grew up gardening in Michigan, estimates the program has received over 600,000 pounds of fresh produce and has grown to include gardens from the Arlington Central Library, schools, and senior centers — and now it’s experimenting with using waste from residents themselves.
Trading trash for treasure
The Solid Waste Bureau collects food waste in two green barrels behind a rosebush by its headquarters in the Trades Center in Shirlington. The waste is then dumped into a 10-foot-high, 31-foot-long earth flow composting stem that cooks the materials under a glass roof and generates 33 cubic yards of compost in about two weeks.
When Solid Waste Bureau Chief Erik Grabowsky opens the doors to the machine, the heady smell of wine wafts out, revealing a giant auger slowly whirring through the blackened bed, turning the composting food.
Grabowsky said the final mix is cut with wood chips — something not always ideal for most vegetable gardens. But Grabowksy says it’s an “evolving” mixture that the department will tweak over time and which he plans to test in the department’s own garden next to the machine.
After the wood chips, the mix is shifted through a hulking “trammel screen” and distributed to AFAC and the Department of Parks and Recreation.
On a recent weekday, workers Travis Haddock and Lee Carrig were busy in Bobcats shuffling dirt off the paved plaza Grabowksy says will host the department’s first open house next Saturday, June 8 to show how the recycling system works. Normally, they manage repairs to the auger and the flow of compost in and out of the machine.
(When asked what their favorite part of the job was, they joked it was when the auger “stops in the middle and you got to climb in there.”)
The department’s free June event, called “Rock-and-Recycle,” will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the department’s lot in the Trades Center and will feature music and food trucks. Attendees will also be able to check out the compost for themselves, as well as the nearby Rock Crusher and Tub Grinder.
From farm to food bank
AFAC is currently experimenting with using the compost for one of its gardens. The nonprofit also makes its own mix using plant scraps and weeds pulled up from the beds.
Near AFAC’s Shirlington headquarters, volunteers run a garden that donates all its yield to the food bank. Boy Scouts originally built the raised beds that now make up 550 square feet of gardening space, and grow lettuce, beets, spinach, green beans, kale, tomatoes, and radishes, on a plot near a water pump station along S. Walter Reed Drive.
Plot Against Hunger manager Lee said the space was originally planned as a “nomadic garden” in 2013, but thanks to the neighboring Fort Barnard Community and the Department of Water and Sewer, it became a permanent fixture on Walter Reed Drive.
Certified Master Gardener Catherine Connor has managed the organic garden for the last three years. She says she’s helped set up the rain barrels and irrigation system that waters the beds in addition to supervising the planting. Now the beds are thick with greens and bumblebees hum between the flowers of the spinach plants that have gone to seed.
“Last year, we had just an incredible growing season,” Lee said. “From the farmers markets alone we picked up something like 90,000 pounds [of food.]”
James Moore holds up his favorite book next to the picture of his father, James Moore Sr., who first opened the shop
Jennifer Sauter-Price says she hopes to share “mirror and window” books with kids through the program
A collection of diverse books at Moore’s Barber Shop (file photo)
James Moore sits on one of his barber chairs underneath a firefighter’s helmet on the wall
A copy of the Green Book sits on an empty barber chair
Inside the barber shop, a rotary phone and long time clients share a space that’s withstood the test of time
Longtime Lee Highway business Mr. Moore’s Barber Shop is piloting a new program pairing kids coming in for haircuts with free books.
“We specifically chose Moore’s Barbershop because it is an Arlington institution,” said Jennifer Sauter-Price, who founded the nonprofit behind the program, Read Early And Daily. “Everyone knows about it, and he has customers for years and others who drive from far away for his services.”
The nonprofit began dropping off books at the barbershop earlier this month and lets kids pick out their favorite to take home. Sauter-Price says she handpicks books that showcase diversity and partners with organizations like First Book and Scholastic Literacy Partnerships, which buy copies for them.
“The goal is to give away as many books as possible,” said James Moore, who was interested in the idea of bringing books to barbershop to spark conversations and help teach kids communication skills.
He told ARLnow that for him it started with Dorothy Hamm, the civil rights activist who integrated Stratford Junior High School and for whom the School Board voted to re-name the school after last year. Moore says he was in the school band, which used to practice at Hamm’s house.
“When I go to practice she would always say, ‘What did you learn at school today?’ and I would say some generic answer, and she wouldn’t let me go until I told her what I learned at school,” Moore said. “So I do the same thing now.”
Moore asks kids to take the books home with them, and to give a kind of “oral book report” about what they read the next time they’re sitting in his chair.
When asked what his 86-year-old father thought of the new book program, James Moore, Jr. said his dad though it was “great.”
As for the future? Sauter-Price is planning to add more community bookshelves around town at a laundromat, the Arlington Clothesline, Mount Olivet Methodist Church, and the Arlington Food Assistance Center.
“One thought is to include a postcard with future books so families can let us know what they think by mailing back the postcard, but we are still working out those details,” said Sauter-Price.
“What will have to happen is the program will have to mature,” said Moore, who hopes to expand to books for teenagers and adults. As an avid history reader, he says he’d like to introduce more adults to books by Malcolm X and the Green Book.
A copy of the Green Book was perched on an empty chair when this reporter visited, and it sparked a conversation with several of the men waiting for haircuts who hadn’t heard of it before.
“In order to be a successful barber you have to be able to communicate with people, learn about people,” said Moore afterward.
Moore also serves as a captain at Fire Station 8 on Lee Highway and says he plans to retire next year. But when that happens, he says he’ll keep the barbershop going, and hopefully will continue the communications flowing.
“If everyone does one little thing, it makes a big impact,” he said.
It’s the Friday before Memorial Day weekend, and everyone seems to be gearing up for the holiday weekend — assuming you’re not already out of town.
Unless you’re one of the thousands of residents who lost power during the storm, or suffered damage to your cars and houses. As of 3 p.m. Dominion was still reporting 4,019 customers out of power in Arlington.
1/6 An old friend has passed. The Reevesland Oak at Bluemont Park in Arlington Virginia fell during a storm yesterday. I always touched, and was touched, by this beautiful tree as I passed by, an inspiration and subject of my camera for many years. @ARLnowDOTcom@capitalweatherpic.twitter.com/Zxaihkiz8G
But even aside from the storms, the holiday preparations and latest Metropocolypse, it’s been a busy week for Arlington. Here’s a few tidbits from around town you might have missed:
Diagram of planned boathouse structures (via Arlington County)
Diagram of proposed Gravelly Point site for the boathouse (Image via National Park Service)
Arlington County may be moving forward with plans to build the long-awaited boathouse in Rosslyn, but some are wondering why a site at Gravelly Point wasn’t chosen instead.
National Park Service spokesman Aaron LaRocca tells ARLnow that Rosslyn was chosen because “it best meets the purpose and need statement in the [environmental assessment] to enhance waterfront access and provide a boathouse facility along the Virginia shore of the Potomac for non-motorized, water based recreation” better than Gravelly Point.
The County Board voted Tuesday to allow County Manager Mark Schwartz to sign a programmatic agreement that ends NPS’ environmental assessment of the decades-long project. This means NPS can now start start designing the boathouse in consultation with the county government and other local stakeholders, LaRocca said.
The environmental assessment examined several alternative sites for the boat house, including Gravelly Point, just north of Reagan National Airport.
Local activist Suzanne Smith Sundburg argued Gravelly Point should have been chosen instead in a letter to the Board before the vote, citing the trees on the Rosslyn site at 2105 N. Lynn Street (formerly known as 1101 Lee Highway) that would need to be cut down. Sundburg also cited the “highly destructive dredging of 52,000 square feet of precious Potomac River wetlands” also needed.
LaRocca said that the Gravelly Point site was unsuitable from an environmental perspective because it lies within a floodplain, whereas the Rosslyn site does not.
In addition to better access to public transit, he added that the Rosslyn site is also “the preferred alternative” because the water is calmer, which would improve boater safety and allow for more days on the river as compared to the Gravelly Point location.
Independent County Board candidate Audrey Clement echoed Sundburg’s concerns Tuesday night, and added that the Rosslyn site would also require a parking lot and an access road to be built, whereas Gravelly Point already has parking and ready access to the GW Parkway.
“Gravelly Point was proposed to avoid potentially sensitive resources and reduce the amount of road infrastructure needed to access the site, compared to other locations along this part of the Potomac River,” says the NPS environmental assessment.
The 106-page study notes that Gravelly Point has turf grass, not trees, and existing parking facilities, but it also notes that wildlife like small rodents, fish, and birds were recorded in “statistically lower” amounts at the Rosslyn site than at Gravelly Point.
LaRocca said NPS recommended the Rosslyn site after weighing the environmental impact and service needs, along with other factors.
Board member Erik Gutshall said he expects improvements to the boathouse plan to be made in the next design phase, and that the current plan’s shortcomings were not a reason for the Board to reject “broad brush” of the project Tuesday night.
This weekend, volunteers are expected to adorn the graves of fallen soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery with thousands of flowers for Memorial Day.
The Memorial Day Flowers Foundation says it is donating 220,000 blooms for the annual event at the cemetery, and expects 1,200 volunteers will be on-site from around 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. to help place the flowers.
“Our primary goal for 2019 is to decorate all 300,000 headstones and niches at Arlington,” the foundation wrote on its website.
The foundation began decorating back in 2012, after part-Ecuadorean founder Ramiro Peñaherrera rustled up donations from Ecuador’s major rose growers for his and other family members buried at the cemetery.
Today, the flowers are donated from growers across the U.S., as well as Ecuador and Colombia, and the event is sponsored by several companies, including FedEx, Cisco, and TD Bank.
A spokeswoman for the foundation told ARLnow that family members interested in a flower for a loved one’s grave at the cemetery can request one by contacting the foundation at [email protected] and a volunteer will send a photo of the flower once it’s placed at the gravestone.
Yesterday, the Arlington National Cemetery also hosted its annual “Flags-In” tradition of placing American flags at the gravestones — despite the storm that felled trees and pelted rain and hail down in the area.
The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as the The Old Guard, returned later that day to reset the flags after the storm passed.
Soldier from @USArmyOldGuard takes a knee during a thunderstorm while participating in Flags-In at Arlington National Cemetery. For 55+ years, soldiers from The Old Guard have honored our nation’s fallen by placing U.S. flags at gravesites. (U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser) pic.twitter.com/0NeAAXZF2g
— Arlington National Cemetery (@ArlingtonNatl) May 24, 2019
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the ceremony yesterday where 250,000 flags were placed at gravestones.
Arlington County Board members announced they were considering giving themselves a raise in the coming year, pending input from residents.
Vice Board Chair Libby Garvey broached the topic during the Tuesday night meeting, saying she’s “concerned increasingly about the level of salary” that the county currently offers to Board members, and she intends to ask the public what they think.
Garvey highlighted the dozens of local and regional group meetings that members attend, saying, “I talk to people about how we’re a five-member basketball team with no back-ups so we have to play the entire game all the time.”
Serving on the County Board is intended to be a part-time position, though in practicality the schedules of Board members leave little time for other jobs.
County Board members currently earn $55,147 annually, while the Board Chair earns $60,662. Garvey noted that was lower than the county’s actual salary cap of $57,337 for members and $63,071 for the Chair.
“At some point we’ll publicize very soon some mechanism to collect feedback from our community about raising County Board member salaries,” said Board Chair Christian Dorsey.
Board member Matt de Ferranti supported the idea. “To have a great community you need the ability for everyone to serve and it shouldn’t be that some folks can serve and others cannot,” he said, referencing current salary levels in relation to the local cost of living.
“It kind of boils down to what kind of County Board we should have,” said Garvey.
Garvey said Board members are required to wait to raise their pay caps until at least two members are running for re-election. This means members would have decide by July 1 of this year whether to give themselves a raise, or otherwise wait another four years.
During her presentation Tuesday night, Garvey shared a graph comparing County Board’s salaries with other neighboring jurisdictions.
Her graph stated that D.C. Council members earn the most in the area at $140,161 annually, but recent records indicate council members actually earn $141,282 and are currently allowed to work additional jobs, although recent scandals mean some are reconsidering that provision. The Council Chairman currently earns $210,000 annually.
The second highest pay rate is for Montgomery Council members, who earn between $139,119 and $153,031 a year, according to the most recent 2018 data.
Next is Fairfax County, where Board members earn $95,000, while the Chairman earns $100,000.
Garvey noted that Loudoun County and Alexandria both pay their local legislators less than Arlington.
Alexandria recently bumped City Council member’s pay from $27,500 to $37,500, and Loudoun increased pay two years ago to $50,000 for the Chair of the Board of Supervisors, $45,320 for the Vice Chair, and $41,200 for the other members, with more raises promised in 2020.
“It’s an uncomfortable thing, that we are the only ones who can increase Board member salaries,” said Board member Katie Cristol, who described asking the public about a salary bump as a “slightly awkward consideration.”
“Short of putting this formally to a vote of every single one of our 230,000 bosses, I think at least asking for folks’ input is an excellent idea,” she said.
This week’s honorary pet is Apple, an 11-year-old Golden Retriever who lives for people, according to her owner Lauren.
Here’s what Lauren has to say about the sporty pup some say is a good luck charm:
Apple joined our family when she was four, and has been a joyful addition ever since. Apple was born in Taiwan but was abandoned by her original owner. Fortunately for us and for her, a wonderful rescue group based in Delaware brought her to America so she could be adopted!
Apple is a fixture at local Arlington Babe Ruth and Arlington Little League baseball games. She loves hanging out at our local parks and getting lots of attention from the players and their families. Many players and teams have even said that Apple is a good luck charm!
Aside from watching baseball, Apple loves children, treats, snuggling, naps, and taking short walks around Lyon Village. Halloween is her favorite when she gets lots of visitors, even if she has to wear a silly costume!
Want your pet to be considered for the Arlington Pet of the Week? Email [email protected] with a 2-3 paragraph bio and at least 3-4 horizontally-oriented photos of your pet. Please don’t send vertical photos, they don’t fit in our photo galleries!
Each week’s winner receives a sample of dog or cat treats from our sponsor, Becky’s Pet Care, along with $100 in Becky’s Bucks. Becky’s Pet Care is the winner of six consecutive Angie’s List Super Service Awards, the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters’ 2013 Business of the Year and a proud supporter of the Arlington County Pawsitively Prepared Campaign.
Becky’s Pet Care provides professional dog walking and pet sitting in Arlington and all of Northern Virginia, as well as PetPrep training courses for Pet Care, CPR and emergency preparedness.
