• Will have their photo in the calendar!
• Will receive a free, mailed calendar!
• Will get the wonderful feeling of helping to make Alexandria an even better home for animals! 

The Grand Prize will be awarded based on total votes received. The animal entry that receives the most votes at the close of competition on June 30, 2025, at 8 p.m. will be recognized as Alexandria's 2026 Animal of the Year, and will

• Grace the front and back covers of the popular AWLA annual photo calendar, and receive 10 complimentary copies.

• Receive a professional pet photography session for the cover photo with one of our talented pet photographers (read more below) at a to-be-determined location. Cover photos will be selected by the AWLA from the results of this photo session; submitted contest photo will appear on the back cover of the calendar alongside a professional photo of the owner(s) (if desired).

• Receive one 8 x 10 and two 5 x 7 complimentary prints (with an option to purchase more photos or products offered by the photographer).

• Have their calendar cover receive a spot-of-honor in the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter for the upcoming year.

• Receive year-round invitations to AWLA events as Alexandria's 2026 Animal of the Year.

• Be featured on the AWLA's website homepage throughout 2026.
  
  
• Be featured as Alexandria's Animal of the Year in the AWLA's monthly Zebra full-page advertisement for one month.
  
  
• Receive a city of Alexandria proclamation from the mayor naming a day in the winning animal's honor 
  
  
• The grand prize winner will also have their photo featured on buses across Northern Virginia in late 2025!
  
  
• Be the guest of honor at the annual calendar Yappy Hour & Launch Paw-ty (date TBD)
  
  
• Be a guest judge in the annual Paws in the Park costume contest
  
  
• Watch this short video to see just how cool these prizes truly are! 
  
  *Winner must be within 20 miles of the AWLA (or willing to travel) and available for a July/August 2025 photo shoot in order to be eligible for prizes. If not available, prize moves to next eligible candidate.

The next THREE top vote recipients will receive

• A 20-minute photography mini-session with a participating AWLA pet photographer (read more below). Calendar photos will be selected by the AWLA from the results of these photo sessions. The photo submitted as part of the animal's entry will not be included.

• A full-page professional photo in the 2026 photo calendar.

• One complimentary 5x7 print, with an option to purchase more photos or products offered by the photographer.

• Five copies of the calendar

• Be featured in the AWLA's monthly Zebra full-page advertisement for one month.
  
  
• Be the guest of honor at the annual calendar Yappy Hour & Launch Paw-ty (date TBD)
• Watch this short video to see just how cool these prizes truly are! 

*Recipients must be within 20 miles of the AWLA and available for a July/August 2025 photo shoot in order to be eligible for prizes. If not available, prize moves to next eligible candidate.

The 5th, 6th, and 7th place entries will receive a custom pet portrait from the talented Alexandra Schmeling.

Entries receiving the 5th- through 13th-highest vote tallies will receive a quarter-page photo placement on one calendar page. 

Entrants who raise more than $250 (equivalent to 250 votes) will receive:

• An invitation to the calendar Yappy Hour & Launch Paw-ty (held in October, date TBD)

Entrants who raise more than $500 (equivalent to 500 votes) will receive:

• An invitation to the calendar Yappy Hour & Launch Paw-ty (held in October, date TBD)
• PLUS, a curated swag bag with AWLA merch and other goodies (must be picked up at the Yappy Hour or after at the AWLA). 
  
  

Everyone is a winner when you participate in the AWLA's 2026 photo calendar contest. All entrants

• Will have their photo in the calendar!

• Will receive a free, mailed calendar!

• Will get the wonderful feeling of helping to make Alexandria an even better home for animals!
  
  

Thank you to our incredible team of professional photographers who volunteer their time and expertise to photograph AWLA's animals for adoption and donate their services each year to this important AWLA fundraiser:

• DeSilva Studios, LLC

• Dirty Paw Photography

To help your pet win more votes, we will be offering a variety of fun challenges and engagement events throughout the length of our photo calendar contest.

Upcoming Challenges (Challenges Posted Every Week in June!)

Entry Challenge: Bonus Vote Challenge (June 1)
The first 25 entries when the contest opens at 8 a.m. on Sunday, June 1 will receive 100 bonus votes.

Congrats to: Pancake, Dolly, Pookie, JB, Barbie & Teddie, Ellie & Frankie, Ernie, Westley, Lulu Lemon, Kai, Loulou, Kobe, Otter, Mike Anneders, Penelope & Troy, Callie (Calypso), Bugsy, Casper, Arthur & Popcorn, Jimmy John, OK, Winnie, Soybean, Diana, and Merlin!

Week 1 Challenge: Bonus Vote Challenge #1 (June 4-June 6)
Any entry (can be new entries, too) that receives 25 votes or more between Wednesday, June 4 at 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June 6 EST will be entered into a drawing for bonus votes! The votes do not need to come from the same voter. We will draw 3 winners. Two contest entrants will receive 150 bonus votes and one will receive 200 bonus votes! We will draw the winners Friday, June 6 and announce them on Instagram and Facebook. Now’s your chance to turn 25 votes into 150+ votes!

Congrats to: Luna (150 vote winner), Mochi Bean (150 vote winner) and Charlotte (200 vote winner)!

Week 2 Challenge: Bonus Vote Challenge #2.1 (June 11-June 13)

Starting Wednesday, June 11 at 10 a.m. until Friday, June 13 at 10 a.m. (EST), 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 will be entered into a drawing to win 150+ bonus votes to help them on their way to becoming "Alexandria's 2026 Animal of the Year." On Friday, we'll draw three winners from the pool of new contest entries. Two winners will receive 150 bonus votes, and one big winner will receive 250 votes!

Congrats to: Ellie (150 vote winner), Bodi (150 vote winner) and Garfield/Tazi/MooMoo (250 vote winner)!

Week 2 Challenge: Bonus Vote Challenge #2.2 (June 12-June 13)

Any entry (can be new entries, too) that receives ANY NUMBER OF VOTES between 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 12 and 10 a.m. on Friday, June 13 EST will be entered into a drawing for bonus votes! We will draw 3 winners. Two contest entrants will receive 250 bonus votes and one will receive 350 bonus votes! We will draw the winners Friday, June 13 (afternoon) and announce them on Instagram and Facebook. The winners will also be emailed directly and added to this page.

Congrats to: Rowdy (250 vote winner), Scout (250 vote winner) and Amori (350 vote winner)!

• 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 Grand Prize or Top Vote Recipient 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 Sunday, June 1, 2025, and end at 8:00:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Monday, June 30, 2025.
• 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.