Photo submission/contest entry rules:
- Photos of dogs, cats, horses, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds are accepted. No people may be in the photo, and no wildlife photos will be accepted.
- Your pet does not have to be adopted from Humane Pennsylvania, or any other shelter, to be eligible to enter the contest.
- Photos may contain more than one pet.
- Only enter each pet one time. Additional photos of the same pet will be removed.
- Photos must be of living pets.
- Pets must live in Lancaster County PA.
- Photos with professional photographer watermarks will be rejected.
- Photos deemed offensive, indecent or obscene will be removed from the contest.
- Photo entry starts on September 9th, 2024. All photo entries must be submitted by midnight EDT Tuesday, September 24th, 2024
- All photos submitted become the property of LNP Media Group
Professional photo rules:
- The 12 pets with the highest number of votes, from the final round will win a free professional pet photo that will be published in the calendar, plus a high-resolution digital copy of the photo. Two dates will be made available in October, at the Greenfield Corporate Center, for the professional pet photos to be taken. If you cannot attend one of those dates, or if you prefer to have your own photo used on the calendar, we will use the photo you submitted to the contest. Accordingly, the photo you submit to the contest must be high quality:
- Photos must be high-resolution (300 dpi or greater) and be in landscape (horizontal) format to be considered for a month in the calendar
- Photos must only contain domestic pets (no people or wildlife)
- Photos must be full-color, no heavily filtered, edited or altered photos
- Photos with professional photographer watermarks will not be eligible to be included in the calendar.
- Photography tips:
- Shoot horizontally.
- Still photos only (no “live” photos or videos).
- Indoor daytime light near a window is best. Avoid flash.
- Tap the screen to set the focus on your pet.
Voting rules:
- Free votes:
- Anyone may cast one free vote per day, Thursday through Sunday, during each of the three voting rounds. The link for to enter free votes is here: https://lancasteronline.com/contests/cutest-pet/form/
- Free votes will be added to the leaderboard by Monday 7PM of each voting week.
- Paid votes:
- If you choose to purchase votes the price is $1 per vote and the money is non-refundable.
- Paid votes are added to the leaderboard immediately.
- A portion of the voting money will be donated to Humane Pennsylvania.
- No purchase is necessary to be eligible to receive votes for your pet.
- Vote totals are zeroed out after each round to ensure a level playing field at the start of each voting round.
- Voting dates:
- Round 1 voting:
- Free and paid voting opens: Thursday, 9/26.
- Free voting closes Sunday, 9/29 at 7:00PM.
- Paid voting closes: Tuesday, 10/1 at 7:00PM.
- Round 2 voting - the top 50% of pets from Round 1 will move to Round 2 and all vote tallies will be re-set to zero.
- Free and paid voting opens: Thursday, 10/3.
- Free voting closes: Sunday, 10/6 at 7:00PM.
- Paid voting closes: Tuesday, 10/8 at 7:00PM.
- Round 3 voting - the top 50% of pets from Round 2 will move to Round 3 and all vote tallies will be re-set to zero.
- Free and paid voting opens: Thursday, 10/10.
- Free voting closes: Sunday, 10/13 at 7:00PM.
- Paid voting closes: Tuesday, 10/15 at 7:00PM.
- Announce winners: Wednesday, 10/16, based on the top vote tallies for the final round.
General rules:
- The 12 pets who get the most votes in the final round will be featured in the calendar. LNP Media Group will decide which pet will be featured on which month. The pet with the most votes will also be featured on the calendar cover.
- Void where prohibited by law.
- LNP Media Group reserves the right to disqualify or modify any entry for any reason.
- Rules subject to change without notice.
- Contest administrators’ decisions are final.
- LNP Media Group is not responsible for lost entries, technical difficulties, acts of God, and any other issues that may cause problems with entering the contest.
- Employees, agents, successors, assignees, advertising agencies, promotional companies, immediate family members, household members, sponsors, agents, affiliates, parent companies, vendors, and suppliers of LNP Media Group and WITF, and others acting on their behalf are ineligible to participate.