Think your Fifi is the floofiest? Is Whiskers the cat’s meow? Get validation by entering your fur baby in a calendar contest and support the Animal Welfare League of Arlington at the same time.
AWLA’s annual competition, one of the organization’s major fundraisers, is accepting entries now through Oct. 24 for the 2026 calendar. To participate, submit a photo of your pet and pay the $25 entrance fee.
Voting runs Oct. 25 through noon on Oct. 31. Each vote costs $1, and there’s a five-vote minimum. AWLA will announce the 13 winners Nov. 1.
The pet with the most votes will claim the coveted cover spot, while the 12 runners-up will be “Monthly Stars,” with one photo featured each month. A volunteer photographer will lead the photo shoot.
“It’s important to know that all pets that enter the contest will be in the calendar,” says Andrea Montes, manager of digital fundraising and communications. “We will have some kind of collage page, and then they will be in different dates throughout the calendar, so everyone really wins.”
How It Works
This is the ninth year that AWLA has hosted the calendar contest. Typically, dogs and cats are the most popular, “but we have had guinea pigs and lizards and birds,” Montes says. “The only thing that we cannot allow is wildlife and illegal wildlife.” (Sorry, no pythons.)
“Also, you don’t have to be an AWLA alum in order to be in the contest,” says Kat Williams, senior director of development at AWLA. “Any pet gotten from any source is welcome.”
New this year: Pet parents who enter the contest can pay an additional $50 to have their pet’s picture featured on the date of their choosing, such as their birthday or “gotcha date.”
“We’re providing the capacity for people to write a short note on behalf of their pets,” Montes says. “It’s only 25 characters because we cannot fit more than that in the little square, but it’s just something fun that they think their pet would say to them to motivate them.”
Don’t want to enter the competition or cast a vote? You can also just buy a calendar online for $30, including shipping. Or pick one up at AWLA headquarters or one of its community events in November and December.
A Dog-Gone Good Cause
AWLA aims to bring in $35,000 with this fundraiser. “The contest proceeds will benefit all we do here at the shelter, from helping with adoptions, caring for the animals before they’re adopted, care while the animals are in foster care, and the public programs that we offer to our community members to support their pet ownership,” Williams says.
Given the potentially prolonged government shutdown, she says AWLA is preparing for an increased need for some of its services. “We’re anticipating people using our services like the Pet Pantry or vet assistant grants, low-cost vouchers and vaccine [and microchipping] clinics,” she says.
AWLA also provides pet food several times a month at Arlington Food Assistance Center and Capital Area Food Bank pantries, Montes says.
Regardless of where AWLA applies the money, “it’s just a really great—and we hope fun—fundraiser to raise awareness for what we do for the people and the pets in the community, and so that we can continue to do that,” Williams says.