Every day, I look forward to my morning walk through Duboce Park on the way to the N train. The dog scene there is a constantly evolving comedy (and sometimes drama) of cliques, patrol groups, and ball-chasing competitions. One thing that's unwavering, however, is the adoration owners have for their pets. Everyone thinks that their dog - purebred or mutt - is the cutest.

Which may be why, when we almost jokingly ran our Pet Poll last year on 7x7.com, we received more than 100 entrants and nearly 21,000 votes. We're doing it again with just dogs this year, and the star search begins today. Send in a photo of your dog to pets@7x7.com, and we'll put the top 50 (chosen by a panel of our editors) up for voting on March 8th.

The Dog Poll will then go down in a few rounds - this is March Madness month, after all:

March 8: 50 finalists up for voting
March 15: 25 finalists with the most votes
March 22: 7 finalists with the most votes

On April 1, we'll crown the pooch with the most votes "San Francisco's Cutest Dog." The winning pup will not only be showered with some serious online glory, he or she will act as the Grand Marshall of the DogFest Pet Procession and Carnival in Duboce Park on April 16 at 11 am. The winning dog will also be graced with a $100 gift certificateto Bow Wow Meow. This is the big leagues, people.

Send in your dog pictures to pets@7x7.com. We'll be taking submissions until Sunday, March 6 at midnight.

The 2011 Dog Poll is sponsored by the SF SPCA. Check in on Thursdays for our weekly Q&A with SF SPCA vets and follow them on Twitter for Friday Ask the Vet Chats.

The San Francisco SPCA is a non-profit community-supported adoption shelter and veterinary hospital dedicated to the health and welfare of San Francisco's cats and dogs.  Visit us online to view adoptable animals, learn about of public veterinary services, find our about volunteering or support us with a donation.Follow the SF SPCA on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and their blog.