Are you a senior who'd like to tell the world how great your pet is? Do you know an older American who is crazy about their companion animal? If so, we'd love to hear your story! In honor of the special relationship between seniors and their pets, The HSUS is excited to announce a contest especially for older Americans.
We're looking for stories about seniors and their pets—whether it's a funny anecdote, the story of how they came together or just a narrative describing how special their bond is. Entries about seniors and mature pets are especially encouraged.
Entries will be accepted until April 17, 2005. After the deadline, HSUS staff members will choose the three most compelling entries out of the pool of submissions. In May, visitors to www.hsus.org will have the chance to read the top three entries, view the accompanying photos, and vote for their favorite senior-pet pair. On May 31, the grand prize winner—as determined by visitor's votes—will be featured on www.hsus.org and in our Pets for Life e-newsletter, along with the winning story and photo.
The second and third place winners won't walk away empty-handed though. All three finalists will receive signed copies of Mark Asher's book, Old Friends: Great Dogs on the Good Life. The book captures the strength and character of older dogs in poignant black and white photos.
So ... are you ready to submit your story? Before you get started, check out the rules listed below. Entries that do not meet the submission criteria will not be considered, so please read carefully!
Contest Rules
Entries must contain the first name, last name, and age of the senior contestant and name and age of the contestant's pet. For the purposes of this contest, "senior" is defined as any person 60 years or older.
Entries must contain a daytime phone number where the senior contestant can be reached. If a person submits a story about a senior friend or relative, the name and phone number of whoever submits the story must be included as well.
Entries must be accompanied by a photo of the senior contestant with their pet(s). The picture must be 500MB or smaller, at least 72 dpi, in full color, and .jpg or .gif format.
Pets must be wearing a visible collar and identification tag in the photo.
We will only accept entries about dogs, cats, horses, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, rats, mice, ferrets, parakeets, finches, cockatiels, canaries and freshwater fish. These animals are considered acceptable pets by The HSUS.
Entries must contain no more than 200 words.
Contest participants may submit as many entries as desired as long as they meet contest criteria.
The winner must agree to be interviewed by phone.
We reserve the right to edit all entries for content, length and grammar.
We reserve the right to use participant's entries and photos for promotional purposes.
The contest deadline is April 17, 2005, 5 p.m. EST.
Submit Your Story
Please e-mail your entries to seniorcontest@hsus.org. Good luck!
