Vote Team Second Chance to Help Us Win Up to $20,000
A Dozen “Second Chance Alums” Rank Top 10 in National Contest
Huge potential prize for Second Chance Animal Services
A large-scale, nationwide contest could give some locally rescued dogs and cats a chance at TV stardom, while offering Second Chance Animal Services a shot at national recognition and donations of up to $20,000 to help fund the animal welfare programs that help 64,000+ New England animals each year.
The Pet Lover’s Choice awards, sponsored by national animal charity Best Friends Animal Society, was designed as the “pet version” of the very popular Teen Choice Awards, which ran from 1999-2019. Voting is open to the public and began in November 2025. Two separate rounds of voting have been slated, with the first having concluded in late February. A star-studded, televised ceremony revealing the winners is slated to air nationally in Spring, 2026.
The contest allows for public voting. Many pets affiliated with Second Chance made it through the very competitive first round, with a dozen currently ranked in the top ten nationally in their respective groups. Each pet contestant could win his or her family huge prizes, including $10,000 cash and a free all-expenses trip to the ceremony in Los Angeles. Winning pets are even invited to the ceremony itself, if they are crowd-tolerant and up for the red-carpet experience.
Pets currently in the running include Roxie, a dog who spent 2+ years in the Second Chance adoption center before being adopted by the volunteer who’d fallen in love with her years prior. Due to his rental apartment’s ban on pets, the smitten volunteer was unable to adopt Roxie until he could purchase a house “for her.” When he was finally able to purchase a home, he adopted her on the very day he closed. The happy story was featured in People Magazine in 2025 and as of press time, the 9-year-old mutt has been alternating between the #1 and #2 spots in the contest’s ultra-competitive Best Rescue Pet category. The public can vote for Roxie here
Adorable Lola is currently ranked #1 in the Cutest Dog category. Lola was one of 26 purebred golden retrievers rescued by Second Chance in late summer of 2025 from an unscrupulous “backyard breeder” who later faced criminal charges for neglectful treatment of the puppies and parent dogs. The story was widely publicized, leading to an immense outpouring of interest from the community and the very quick adoption of all of the dogs. The public can vote for Lola here
In the Athletic Champion category is 5-year-old Sid, a mini 9-lb. terrier mix who lost a leg to a car accident. Close to death, she was abandoned at a vet clinic in rural Tennessee, and adopted in 2020. A video showing Sid at a Boston dog park, racing to fetch a squeaky ball, helped to propel her to the current #1 spot in the category. The public can vote for Sid here
Additional contestants include Phoebe, a 7-lb. mutt found as a stray dog on the streets of Boston in 2018. Today, she has a huge wardrobe of coats, dresses and even hats, as demonstrated by her contest photos. Described as a “born supermodel,” she is currently ranked #1 in the Most Fashionable category. The public can vote for Phoebe here
Additional dogs in the contest’s top 10 include Spencer, a certified emotional support animal and proud “mama’s boy” who is ranked at #3 in the popular Best Rescue Pet category. Adorably scruffy little Zulu is #7 in the Senior Sweetheart category and sports the grey whiskers you might expect for a lady of her age.
Performing well in the Cutest Dog category are pint-sized fashionista Gracie, currently #3, and dignified Duke, well known in his adopted hometown of Southbridge, MA, where he’s been named Duke of Southbridge. Duke is currently ranked at #5. The public can vote for Spencer here, Zulu here, Gracie here and Duke here
But it’s not just rescue dogs who are performing in the top ten in the national contest. Jovi, a stunning blue-eyed Persian cat who loves to chase paper balls, is currently ranked #5 in the Best Rescue Pet category. In the popular Cutest Cat category is Shadow, an adorable and cuddly grey and white cat currently ranked #4, Dahlia, a champion purrer who lives happily with another Second Chance rescue cat, ranked #5, and Habanero, a “spicy” kitten who loves to chase birds and follow her people around the house. The public can vote for Jovi here, Shadow here, Dahlia here, and Habanero here
Second Chance is proud of all of its affiliated entrants into this well publicized national contest, and hopeful that the rescue pets featured could even help the charity garner enough votes to win some of the prize money offered (the charity with the most votes nationwide will receive $20,000, while 16 runners up will receive $5,000 each). Friends and followers of both the individual pets and of the charity itself are encouraged to vote at the links above or below and are reminded that they may vote for as many pets as they wish, even in multiple categories, once a day, until the contest closes. Additional votes can be “purchased” by making a donation to Best Friends Animal Society.
Second Chance Animal Services Development Director Lindsay Doray was happy to see so many Second Chance pets auditioning for a red carpet experience. “It is amazing to see so many animals, with all they have been through, trying to raise money to help many more shelter pets get a new ‘leash’ on life,” she said.
It is worth noting that even if none of the Second Chance pets win, the contest is helping to publicize the types of wonderful, worthy animals up for adoption every single day at shelters around the country, including at Second Chance Animal Services’ busy adoption center in East Brookfield, MA. The adoption center is open to the public Mondays 10 – 3, Tuesdays 10 – 3, Wednesdays 10 – 3, Thursdays 10 – 3 and 5 – 7, Fridays 10 – 3, and Saturdays 10 – 4. The adoption center is closed to the public on Sundays.
Aside from its adoption center, which finds homes for an average 1,500 pets each year, the organization, founded in 2004, offers initiatives aimed at keeping animals out of shelters, including four nonprofit animal hospitals in central Massachusetts which offer low or no cost veterinary care to pet owners facing financial need. It supplies 25 food pantries with pet food, and runs programs that aim to help seniors and military vets keep their beloved companion animals at home. More information on the charity’s programs here. Animals participating in the Pet Lover’s Choice Awards can be viewed at the following links:
Dogs:
Roxie, Best Rescue Pet category
Lola, Cutest Dog category
Sid, Athletic Champion category
Phoebe, Most Fashionable category
Spencer, Best Rescue Pet category
Zulu, Senior Sweetheart category
Gracie, Cutest Dog category
Duke, Cutest Dog category
Jovi, Best Rescue Pet category
Cats:
Shadow, Cutest Cat category
Dahlia, Cutest Cat category
Habanero, Cutest Cat category
For more information on the contest itself, the public is encouraged to go to PetLoversChoiceAwards.com While the contest is now closed to additional entrants, Best Friends Animal Society has stated publicly that it intends for the contest to be an annual event.
More: BestFriends.org