Overview:

The NEW Top Dog contest features two rounds: a local round and a championship round.

The local round ran from 9/10-10/9, and it consisted of six simultaneously running contests - one for each participating community/shelter. The top ten winners from each local contest have advanced to the championship round. These 60 entrants are now competing for the crown!

Eligibility and Entry

• Entry for the local round of the contest closed on 10/9/2021.
• The top 10 winners from each local contest are participating in the championship round.

Voting

• Votes cost $1 each
• There are no limits to how many votes you can buy.
• There are no limits to how many times you can pay to vote.
• All votes must be made online, directly through the contest page.
• All donations for votes are non-refundable.
• Banking votes:
  • Voters can purchase all of their votes at one time (on a single credit card transaction). 
  • Votes can then be allocated to multiple entries (or to the same entry, but at different times throughout the contest).
  • Banked votes can be applied to any contestant in the championship round.
  • Any unallocated votes at the end of the contest will be considered a contest donation.

General Rules - Championship Round

• Votes were reset to 0 at the beginning of the championship round
• Voting begins October 10 at 9:00am CST
• Voting ends October 16 at 8:00pm CST
• During the championship round, participants will no longer be able to modify images, bios, etc., as all information will be uploaded into the contest site by the Event Coordinator.

Prize Awarding

Winning a prize is contingent upon compliance with all Official Rules. The Event Coordinator will attempt to notify winning participants by email or telephone within 14 days of the contest end date.

• For the local round, all winners will be contacted by October 23, 2021.
• For the championship round, all winners will be contacted by October 30, 2021.
• Any prizes that are unclaimed after November 6, 2021 will be forfeited.

Local Round Prizes

• The top 10 vote-earning dogs from each local contest will be awarded prizes.
• Placement will be determined based solely on the number of votes collected.
  • In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be given to the dog who was registered first within their local round.
• For local round prize details, please refer to the individual shelters’ prize pages.
• Prize winners will be notified and given instructions about where to pick up prizes (as per the schedule noted in the Prize Awarding section).

Championship Round Prizes

• The top 3 vote-earning dogs in the championship round will be awarded prizes at the end of the contest – please see the Championship Round Prize Page for a list of prizes.
• Placement will be determined based solely on the number of votes collected.
  • In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be given to the dog who was registered first within their local round.
• At the end of the championship round, the shelter with the most votes (cumulatively) across all 10 dogs representing their shelter will win a $5,000 cash prize.
• Prize winners will be notified and given instructions about where to pick up prizes (as per the schedule noted above).

Contest Beneficiaries

Proceeds from NEW Top Dog 2022 will benefit the participating shelters and the Event Coordinator, Oshkosh Mid-Morning Kiwanis.

Laws and Limitations of Liability

This is the required “fine print.” All federal, state, local, and municipal laws and regulations apply.

Participation in the Contest constitutes agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of Event Coordinator, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements of the contest.

In the event that the operation of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, the Oshkosh Mid-Morning Kiwanis Club (Event Coordinator) may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules or (b) terminate the contest and, in the event of termination, award the prize from among the eligible, legitimate entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Event Coordinator reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive or offensive manner.

By participating in the contest, entrants agree that all photos, videos, descriptions, and likeness of the dogs and their owners submitted to the contest or taken at contest sponsored events can be used without permission by Event Coordinator, participating shelters/rescues, or contest sponsors to promote this contest or any future contests the Event Coordinator or sponsors might develop. This includes but is not limited to using items in social media posts, websites, posters, flyers, specially brewed beer products, and other promotional products.

By participating in the Contest, entrants also agree to release and hold harmless the Event Coordinator, all participating shelters/rescues, all other Sponsors, and each of their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, other companies associated with the contest, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, representatives, and agents (the Released Parties) from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of the prize(s).