We are thrilled to bring back this pupular contest — and this year, it's open to the entire community! Your canine companion -- whether a PAL dog or a "PALly" (PAL ally) -- now has a chance to shine in our 2027 calendar, PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship.
Proceeds from the contest support PAL's mission of spreading therapy dog love to those who need it most: isolated seniors, students, hospital patients, first responders, and countless others across our community seeking social and emotional connection.
Ready to vote?
You can vote for one dog, multiple dogs, or all of the dogs! To get started, click the “View Entries and Vote” button to the right. If you wish to make a single donation and split the votes among multiple dogs, you’ll do the following: 1) click on the picture of one of the dogs for whom you wish to vote, and then 2) click on the instructions for banking votes (Look for “Do you want to bank your votes? Find out how” in small print underneath the dog’s bio and “Vote for Dog”). Thank you for supporting PAL’s therapy dog program!
It’s easy to participate! Follow these three easy steps:
- Make a $45 donation to enter (which includes one copy of PAL's 2027 calendar, PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship by mail in the Fall of 2026).
- Submit a favorite photo of your dog (current dog, please).
- Get your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to vote for your dog’s photo. (We’ve even given you a draft email to customize.)
Win great prizes! The 12 photos with the most votes at 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, August 9, 2026 will be considered our winners. Each winner will qualify for a professional photo shoot of their dog. Those photos will be featured as the largest photos of the month in the calendar. Also, ALL photos submitted for the contest will appear in the calendar no smaller than 1” x 1”. (Note: Photo shoots will occur in September in the Washington DC area. More details coming soon. If you are unable to attend, a new winner will be selected in order of number of votes.)
All contest entrants will receive one copy (per entry) of PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship by mail in the Fall of 2026 as part of their $45 entry fee. Additional calendars will be available for purchase after the contest closes in August.
Questions? Email info@peopleanimalslove.org
Prizes
1st Place
- A professional photo shoot with pet photographer, Hannele Lahti. Prize includes a web-sized digital file of the original artwork to share on your socials
- Your dog’s professional photo will be featured as the cover of PAL's 2027 calendar, PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship
- You will select which month you would like your dog’s photo featured
- $50 gift card to PAL’s Bonfire or Lands’ End store (your choice)
- Three additional copies of PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship
2nd Place
- A professional photo shoot with pet photographer, Hannele Lahti. Prize includes a web-sized digital file of the original artwork to share on your socials
- Your dog’s professional photo will be featured in PAL's 2027 calendar, PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship. You will select which month you would like your dog’s photo featured (excluding the month selected by the 1st place winner)
- $25 gift card to PAL’s Bonfire or Lands’ End store (your choice)
- Two additional copies of PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship
3rd Place
- A professional photo shoot with pet photographer, Hannele Lahti. Prize includes a web-sized digital file of the original artwork to share on your socials
- Your dog’s professional photo will be featured in PAL's 2027 calendar, PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship. You will select which month you would like your dog’s photo featured (excluding the months selected by the 1st and 2nd place winners)
- $25 gift card to PAL’s Bonfire or Lands’ End store (your choice)
- One additional copy of PALs & PALlies: A Year of Fur & Friendship
Prizes are not transferable and may not be redeemed for cash.
How to submit the photo of your dog:
Once you have made your $45 donation online at www.gogophotocontest.com/peopleanimalslove/enter, follow the steps on that page, click on the “Participate” tab, and follow the directions to upload a photo of your dog.
- Voting will begin at 12:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Monday, July 13, 2026 and run until 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, August 9, 2026. The 12 photos with the most votes at 5:00pm on August 9 will be considered our winners. Online entries must be received by August 9.
- $1 per vote. $5 minimum vote.
All photos become the property of People Animals Love and are subject to edits to ensure the proper fit in the calendar.
Eligible Photographs:
- Only entries that have made a photo submission donation will be accepted into the calendar and contest.
- Photos should be submitted as a high resolution, 300 dpi, or .jpg file.
- Please ensure there are no people in the photo of your dog and that your dog is NOT in costume.
- No photos of dogs wearing prong collars are permitted.
- Only one photo submission per dog; we will not select a photo for you if you submit multiple photos.
- Photos of additional dogs may be submitted at $45 per submission here.
- You will receive a confirmation email once we’ve received your donation and photo submission.
Calendar Photo Selections:
The 12 photos with the most votes at 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, August 9, 2026, will be considered the winners.
All eligible photo submissions will be scattered throughout the calendar in various sizes, but no photo will be less than 1 inch x 1 inch. You may be asked to provide a different photo or a high-resolution version of the photo they submitted.
(Note: Photo shoots will occur on Friday, September 18 from 6:45pm - 8:30pm and Sunday, September 20 from 10:45am - 12:30pm at Union 206 Studio, 822 South Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304. If you are unable to attend either day, a new winner will be selected in order of number of votes.)
Vote for Your Favorites:
Once a photo is submitted, you will want to share your personal page to gather votes. Votes are $1 each, with a minimum $5 donation for five votes.
All votes for photo submissions will be tabulated and displayed online.
To vote online, click on the “Participate” tab at www.gogophotocontest.com/peopleanimalslove/enter. Donate a minimum of $5 for five votes. Those votes can then be cast for any submitted photo in one-vote increments. Voters do not have to use all the votes at the time of donation. When voters donate, they will be given the option of applying all the votes to one photo, spreading their votes over various photos, or storing votes in their account. If a voter chooses to store their votes, the voter can log into their account using their ID and password and vote later. All votes must be applied to selected photos by the conclusion of the voting period to be counted. Votes cannot be applied to future contests. The online voting period will end at 5:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
Ending time for the Photo Contest will be determined by the host website's server and will show prominently on the Photo Contest website as a countdown clock on the last day of the fundraiser.
All votes are donations to People Animals Love and are fully tax-deductible as permitted by law. All donors will receive receipts for their contributions.
Votes and entry fees are non-refundable.