All entries and votes must be submitted by the deadlines listed below in order to be included in the final vote count. Entries may include animals that have passed away; however, to be eligible for the top seven spots, animals must be still living and available to be photographed, within 20 miles of the AWLA.

• Your animal does NOT have to be adopted from the AWLA or any other shelter, to be eligible to enter the contest. People are NOT allowed in photos, but photos of cats, dogs and small companion animals are accepted.
• Photo entries must be no smaller than 1575 pixels x 2100 pixels, in RGB, .jpg or .eps format. Photos must be high resolution for printing purposes. If you are taking photos with your phone, please be sure to capture your image at the highest possible setting in order to meet resolution criteria.
• Multiple animals are allowed in one photo. 
• Employees and Board Members of the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria are welcome to submit photographs and encouraged to fundraise, but are not eligible for prizes.
• All photo submissions must be digital.
• We cannot accept photos with digital overlays, photo stickers, doodles or any digital effects. Copyrighted photos may only be included with the written permission of the copyright-holder.
• Once photos are entered, you grant the AWLA the right to use them at its discretion for print and marketing purposes.
• The AWLA reserves the right to decline publication of any photograph for any reason. Should this happen, we will notify you and, if an appropriate replacement cannot be obtained, refund your entry fee if desired. The AWLA has final approval on all photos submitted and reserves the right to replace an animal's photograph to overcome production issues.
• Animals must be entered in the correct contest "category." The AWLA will change the category of any entry that is entered incorrectly.
• The submission and voting periods begin at 8:00:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Saturday, June 1, 2024, and end at 8:00:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, June 30, 2024.
• Winners will be announced on the AWLA's social media channels on June 30. Winners will be contacted by phone (first) or email (alternatively) by the first week of July.

Each vote costs $1, and there is no limit to the number of votes one may cast for the duration of the contest. You must purchase a minimum of five votes at a time for a minimum charge of $5. You may vote for your own photo. Online voting begins as soon as the photo is registered and ends 8:00:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, June 30, 2024.

In addition to our online system, voting can be done by mail, at the shelter or by calling (703) 746-5830. Votes made over the phone with a credit card are restricted to a $20 minimum. Offline votes (mail, telephone, in-person) must be received by noon on June 30, 2024. After noon on June 30, only online voting will be allowed.

To make sure a vote made via check is credited to the correct photo, voters must identify the pet and owner's name. Please make checks payable to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria.