Now is the peak of summer, which means once again, it’s time to PEOPLE’s annual “World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest”. Sponsored by Pedigree®, the World’s Cutest Rescue Dogs Contest offers owners the chance to share the incredible stories (and adorable faces) of their dogs with the world. gender.
All rescue dogs and those who give their lives to them are commendable, and PEOPLE’s annual contest truly shows the value of rescuing a shelter dog, no matter what. who wins.
In addition, the dog that won the title also received some pretty attractive prizes. The world’s cutest rescue dog officially won a custom photo shoot, a feature featured in PEOPLE magazine and on People.com, the Pedigree® dog food supply of the year and a $1,000 donation to an animal rescue organization of their choice.
How to enter your rescue dog
First: go to www.People.com/rescuedogcontest. Click the “Join Contest” button. Then just fill out an application, share a little about why your rescue dog is special to you (no more than 150 words), and upload a photo of them. There is no cost to enter the contest!
According to the contest rules:
- You must live within the 50 United States or DC to enter.
- All of [human] Participants must be 18 years or older.
- Each participant can only enter one (1) pet.
You can submit your entry between June 29 and August 10, 2022. Then, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until October to find out who the winners are.
After submissions are over, PEOPLE’s editors will select 10 finalists from thousands of rescue dog registrants. Readers can then vote to narrow the list down to the top 3. The final grand prize winner will be chosen by the competition’s jury: Akbar Gbajabiamila, Natalie Morales, Jerry O’Connell, People Pets editor Kelli Bender and Pedigree® Foundation ambassador Evan Satinoff.
See more detailed rules and requirements here.
Previous winner of the “World’s Cutest Rescue Dog” award
2022 will be the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog contest for the 5th time in a row. Last year’s contest winnerA mixed-breed dog named Heaven, defeated over 10,000 other rescue dogs for the title.
Heaven is part Chow Chow, part Labrador, part Boxer and part Pekingese. As someone who was once lost in Kentucky, Heaven has finally moved from an overcrowded shelter to Rescue starfish animals in Illinois. After everything Heaven has been through, she is terrified (especially with men and the outdoors).
According to Jackie Rakers, her adopter who sent her to the contest, the rescue dog at first displayed “intense” anxiety. Rakers helped Heaven overcome her fear, slowly introducing her to parks and dog-friendly businesses to get comfortable with new stimuli.
“Whenever a trolley passes and makes a noise, or a man walks past, she knows that if she makes eye contact with me instead of reacting, she will be treated. . We overcame a lot of fears together.”
Today, Heaven has truly “found its smile”. That grin is now famous on Instagram (@heaven_is_a_dog has 15,000 followers). This formerly very nervous dog has come a long way.
“I feel the biggest thing I learned from her was not to give up,” Rakers told PEOPLE. “Heaven went through a lot very early in her life. Things that no dog has to go through. But she still loves life.”
The forerunner of heaven, World’s cutest rescue dog in 2020, is a survivor in a puppy mill called Lamb Chop. Before, the winner is another puppy factory survivor The name is Kacey.
Even if your dog doesn’t win (overwhelming!), this annual contest is a nice reminder that rescuing a dog has a huge impact on the lives of so many dogs, and People.
Featured pictures: Facebook
