Official Rules

Overview

The NEW Top Dog contest will consist of six simultaneously running contests – one for each participating shelter/recue and one dog will be crowned the NEW Top Dog for 2022.

See the FAQ and/or the individual contest pages for more information about the participating organizations.

Eligibility

Contest is open to anyone 21 years of age or older.
There are no geographical boundaries or limitations to entry or voting. Entries from outside of Wisconsin are eligible to win prizes (Please see Prize Awarding section for additional details.)
Your pup does not need to have been adopted from a shelter in order to enter.

Entries

All entries must be made between September 9th and September 30th
Entries cost $10 each.
All entries automatically receive 10 free votes.
One dog per photo/entry.
The dog must belong to the person registering them in the competition.
All entries must be made online, directly through the contest page(s).
All donations for entries are non-refundable.

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(s).
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 are only applicable for the contest that the votes were purchased in.
Any unallocated votes at the end of the contest will be considered a contest donation.

Photo Guidelines

The following are requirements for all submitted photos:

Accepted formats: .jpg or .png
Dogs only, please. No humans or other pets in your photo.
One dog per photo
Must not be altered, other than minor adjustments to contrast, brightness, etc.
You must own and possess all rights to any photo that is submitted into this contest.
Must be in good taste.
You may enter photos in memory of your canine companion. Please note the following criteria about memorialized entries:

All photo guidelines apply to these entries.
The dog must have belonged to the person registering them in the competition.

By submitting a photo, you certify that you own and possess all rights to your photo, and you give the NEW Top Dog contest unencumbered rights to use the photo for any and all purposes.

Photos that do not follow guidelines or are deemed inappropriate by the Event Coordinator will be removed at the discretion of contest officials. If you have any questions about photo submissions or criteria, please contact your contest administrator at contest@newtopdog.com

Event Dates

Entry begins September 9th at 12:00am CST.
Voting begins September 16th at 12:00am CST.
Voting ends September 30th at 9:00pm CST.

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.

All winners will be contacted by October 14th, 2022.
If the winners cannot be reached within the aforementioned 14 day window, that winner will forfeit their prizes.
Any prizes that are unclaimed after October 21st, 2022 will be forfeited.

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).
Please note that because championship round winners will be asked to participate in NEW Top Dog promotions and events, out-of-state registrants and memorialized dogs will not be advanced into the championship round (but they are eligible to win prizes in the local round).

Championship Prize

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.

At the end of the contest, the shelter with the most votes (cumulatively) across all dogs representing their shelter will win a $5,000 cash prize. The shelters with the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th most votes will receive $4,000, $3,000,
$2000, $1000 respectively.
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).