The 2026 Cleveland APL Pet Calendar Contest is Now Open!
The 18th Annual Cleveland APL Pet Calendar Contest is open! Don’t miss the chance for your furry friend to be featured in the 2026 Cleveland Animal Protective League pet calendar honoring our area’s much-loved pets. Your pet could even be the star of a month! The entry fee is $35 per picture and your pet’s picture is guaranteed to be included in the Cleveland APL’s 2026 calendar. The entry fee also includes a copy of our full-color calendar, which will be mailed to you in November 2025. The deadline to enter is Sunday, July 20, 2025!
Click here to complete the online registration form!
Contest Rules:
1. You must either submit the online registration form here, then submit your horizontally-formatted photo(s) electronically by emailing AMiller@ClevelandAPL.org,
OR
Print and complete the registration form at the bottom of the page, then mail your registration form and a 4×6 horizontally-formatted photograph to our mailing address: ATTN: 2026 Calendar Contest, 1729 Willey Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44113.
2. Photos must be of pets only — no people (or parts of people), please!
3. Digital photos are preferred. For digital photos, please provide sharp images (highest resolution) that are 300 dpi at a 5×7 format or larger. Digital photos must be at least 3,000 pixels horizontal. Cell phone photos are accepted if saved at the highest resolution possible. Please name the digital files by the pet’s first and last name, i.e. “Fido Jones.jpg.” In order to be eligible to win a month, your photo entry must be high resolution*.
4. Photos with text or with social media filters or frames will not be accepted. Polaroid, copyrighted professional photographs, or photos taken in a studio are not acceptable. We cannot return physical photographs which are mailed.
5. All entries will be blind-judged by the Cleveland APL’s panel of local celebrities and the top 11 will be featured as “Pets of the Month.” All entries must be postmarked by Sunday, July 20, 2025, and will be included in the 2026 calendar. Those chosen for “Pet of the Month” will be notified by email.
*Photos that are not eligible to win a month will still be included in the calendar either as a smaller photo on a month page or in a collage at the beginning or end of the calendar.
Here are some tips for taking a paw-fect photo:
– Your camera is set to take high resolution photos
– There are no people or parts of people in the photo
– The photo is horizontal, not vertical
– The photo is not too zoomed in (for example, the ears are not cut out of the frame)
– The photo is clear and crisp and does not look blurry or pixelated
Here are examples of good and bad photo entries:
